Two unbeaten ACC teams will collide Friday night in Blacksburg, where Pitt makes its first road trip of the season to face Virginia Tech.
Both programs enter at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play, putting this matchup squarely among the league’s early-season headliners. Pitt has rolled through September under 12th-year coach Pat Narduzzi, while Virginia Tech’s fast start under first-year coach James Franklin has become one of the ACC’s early surprises.
Franklin made it clear Monday that he expects a full 60-minute fight.
"This is going to be a battle," Franklin said Monday. "This is going to be a four-quarter game, and I've got a lot of respect for what I've seen on tape. I've got a lot of respect for Pat professionally, what he's done over his career."
Pitt has been overpowering so far, outscoring opponents 157-34. That included a 59-0 win over Bucknell last Saturday, the Panthers’ first shutout since 2020. Mason Heintschel was at the center of it all, throwing for 403 yards and six touchdowns.
Virginia Tech’s perfect start looks different, but no less impressive. The Hokies are coming off a 21-14 comeback win at Boston College, where they erased a 14-6 fourth-quarter deficit. Jeffrey Overton Jr. led the turnaround with 209 rushing yards and the go-ahead 76-yard touchdown run.
The Hokies have leaned on the ground game all season and rank sixth in the ACC at 177.8 rushing yards per game. That strength will be tested by a Pitt defense that has been stingy against the run, sitting No. 2 in the conference at just 53.3 yards allowed per game.
Narduzzi said Monday that Virginia Tech’s offense presents real challenges.
"They do a good job schematically," Narduzzi said Monday of the Hokies. "I think the O-line does an excellent job of knowing what they need to do, and they're going to try to put us in a bind, and then we got to put ourselves out of the bind.
But that's what we do. We're pretty good."
Virginia Tech holds a 12-11 lead in the all-time series and won the most recent meeting 38-21 three years ago, also in Blacksburg.
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Grunkemeyer Sees One Clear Issue Even After Virginia Techs Gritty Win
Virginia Techs trip to Boston College came with all the discomfort a late-season road game can throw at a team, with rain and wind making everything feel a little harder than it should. Even after the Hokies got back to campus, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer was still dealing with the aftereffects of the weather, saying some of the things in his bag had not dried by the time the team returned. It was the kind of night that tested more than just execution.
The game itself also served as another reminder of how much grit Virginia Tech had to bring to keep moving through tough conditions. Weather like that tends to strip a game down to its essentials, and the Hokies had to lean on resilience just to get through it. Grunkemeyers postgame comment captured the broader feel of the trip, with one practical problem standing out even after the bigger football questions had been settled. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces A Real Depth Test Ahead Of Pitt
Virginia Techs unbeaten start is about to meet a little uncertainty. The ACC released its first player availability report ahead of the Hokies Oct. 2 matchup with Pitt, and Virginia Tech showed up with a long list of 13 players carrying designations ranging from out to questionable to probable. For a team that has ridden a 4-0 start into the national spotlight, the report adds a layer of intrigue before a game that will air live on ESPN.
The Hokies have earned the right to feel good about where they stand, but the availability list is a reminder that depth can get tested quickly once conference play tightens up. Pitt brings a fresh challenge, and Virginia Tech will be watching closely to see which of those sidelined or limited players are available when kickoff arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces Its First Real ACC Test Against Pitt
Virginia Techs unbeaten start gets a different kind of test this week, one that should tell the Hokies a lot more about where they really stand in the ACC race. Pitt arrives just as hot, with both teams sitting at 4-0 and 1-0 in league play, and the matchup brings together one of the conferences most productive offenses and one of its stingiest defenses. For Virginia Tech, the usual headliners are in the spotlight again, with Raheem Blackshear, Ethan Grunkemeyer and Caleb Harris each expected to have a major hand in how this one unfolds.
The contrast makes this more than just another early-season game. Virginia Tech has been piling up points at a 43.3-per-game clip, while Pitt has kept opponents in check at just 8.5 points per game, so something has to give when the two teams finally meet. For the Hokies, it is the first real chance to see whether their fast start can travel against a defense built to make life uncomfortable, and the result should say plenty about how sustainable this opening run really is. [Read more 🡒]