Pitt left Lane Stadium with a 35-33 escape, a 5-0 record and a coach who had plenty to say about the AP poll.
Pat Narduzzi didn’t hide his feelings after the Panthers survived Virginia Tech on Friday night, thanks to Hokies kicker John Love missing a 36-yard field goal on the final play. In his postgame interview with ESPN, Narduzzi went straight at the voters.
"We've got a hell of a football team," Narduzzi said in his postgame interview with ESPN. "Any of those voters out there, if they wake their ass up they might figure that out."
The Panthers were unranked entering the week, sitting seventh in the “others receiving votes” section of the AP poll. After this road win, their first away from home, they should be in position to move closer to the top 25 when the next poll comes out Sunday.
The bigger picture is even more interesting. Pitt’s win moved it into a strong spot in the ACC race, with a major test looming at No.
4 Miami on Oct. 24.
Before that, the Panthers still have a home date with North Carolina next week and a trip to Boston College on Oct. 17.
If they get through those two, they’d take a 7-0 record into that showdown.
Friday’s game, though, was anything but smooth. Virginia Tech led 24-14 before turnovers turned the night around and Pitt found a way to seize control. The Hokies were still dangerous throughout, and the final stat sheet showed just how much pressure Pitt was under.
Virginia Tech finished with 499 total yards and averaged 6.8 yards per play, while Pitt managed 295 yards and 4.8 per snap. The Hokies’ offense leaned heavily on quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, who threw for 434 yards but also committed three turnovers.
Pitt was already dealing with a major concern when sophomore Mason Heintschel went out with what appeared to be a knee injury early in the third quarter. Heintschel had entered the night third in the ACC in passing yards, second in touchdowns and fourth in passer rating. When he left, Pitt trailed 24-21.
Backup Holden Geriner held up well enough to keep the Panthers afloat, but the game also tilted in Pitt’s favor because Virginia Tech kept giving possessions away. Heintschel later returned to the sideline on crutches, where he watched the finish unfold with the rest of his teammates.
Then came the kick that stunned Lane Stadium. Love, a fifth-year kicker, had been almost automatic in his career, entering the game 60 for 70 and a perfect 6 for 6 this season.
Virginia Tech even shifted the ball to the right hash to suit his preference and used a timeout with three seconds left to set up the winner. The snap and hold looked clean.
Love reacted as if the kick had gone through. The officials ruled otherwise, signaling it wide left and freezing the crowd.
That miss brought the game to a brutal end for the Hokies and set off Narduzzi’s postgame outburst. It also sent Pitt to 5-0 for the second time in the past three seasons. In 2024, the Panthers didn’t crack the rankings until they were 6-0, eventually climbed to No. 18, and then lost six straight to finish the year.
So yes, Pitt has the record, and it has the coach making noise. But it still has work to do before anyone can call it a true College Football Playoff threat - or a real threat to Miami in the ACC.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Suddenly Has A Discipline Problem James Franklin Must Fix
Virginia Techs latest setback fit an ugly pattern that has started to follow James Franklins team around. After leading at halftime against Cal, the Hokies let another winnable game slip away, adding frustration to a stretch that has featured turnovers, penalties and an offense that has not been able to find steady production on the ground. It was the second straight week Virginia Tech held a halftime edge and still walked off the field empty-handed, the kind of trend that quickly turns a promising start into a discipline issue.
Franklin and his staff now have to clean up the details before the season gets away from them. The problems are broad enough to affect every phase of the game, and the repeated mistakes have left little margin for a team that has already seen close games tilt the wrong way. Virginia Tech does not need a complete overhaul so much as a sharper, more consistent standard, but finding it in the middle of a season can be the hardest fix of all. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Heads Into Georgia Tech With Two Troubling Questions
Virginia Techs open practice ahead of its trip to Georgia Tech offered a useful look at where the Hokies stand entering the week. James Franklin spent part of the session updating the health of key players and the teams overall performance, with offensive line depth and discipline both in focus as the Hokies try to clean things up before the next road test.
Brody Meadows was active in practice and appears to be trending in the right direction, while Montavious Cunningham remained limited as the Hokies monitored his injury status. Franklin also pointed to the teams penalty problems and the ongoing competition on special teams, where the kicking and punting roles remain unsettled as Virginia Tech continues working through the details before Friday. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Gets An Early Warning For Must Win Georgia Tech Game
The ACCs first availability report for Virginia Techs meeting with Georgia Tech arrived well before kickoff and gave both sides an early look at who may or may not be ready to go Saturday in Atlanta. The conferences new game-week report, which sorts players into available, probable, questionable, doubtful and out, matters more in a matchup like this, where Virginia Tech is trying to steady itself in a conference game that already carries plenty of weight.
Virginia Tech shows up with 11 players on the initial list, a number that will be watched closely as the week goes on, while Georgia Tech has a key offensive piece in running back Justice Haynes tagged as doubtful. With the game set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network, the Hokies will be tracking those designations all the way to the final report, hoping the picture looks a little cleaner by the time they take the field. [Read more 🡒]