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 Faces A Huge Opening In Unsettled Cal Matchup
Virginia Tech heads into its trip to California Memorial Stadium with plenty still to sort out on its own side, but the bigger question may be how Cal lines up at quarterback. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele left the Bears' previous game because of a head injury, which leaves an already important matchup feeling even less settled as the Hokies prepare for another road challenge.
Ethan Grunkemeyer gave Virginia Tech a glimpse of its passing upside by throwing for a career-high 434 yards in the last outing, even if the turnovers undercut the effort. The Hokies could find some room to operate if Cal is without key playmakers, though the Bears also have safety Kingston Lopa, the FBS leader in interceptions, and his status after leaving early in the last game adds another layer to a matchup that already feels full of variables. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech's Next Two Games Will Test What Pitt Exposed
Virginia Tech comes out of its open date facing a stretch that should say plenty about where the Hokies really stand. The next stop is Georgia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network, and it arrives after a recent run that has already put the offense and defense under the microscope. The broader picture around both teams makes the timing matter even more, with each side carrying recent results, standout performers and the kind of midseason questions that tend to sharpen once the calendar turns deeper into October.
For Virginia Tech, this is also about more than one Saturday in Atlanta. The Hokies upcoming travel and the next portion of the schedule will force them to show whether the issues exposed recently were a one-game problem or something more persistent. Georgia Tech has its own momentum to manage, but for Virginia Tech the real value of this matchup is in what it can reveal before the road gets any tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech Faces A Cal Problem That Could Decide This Road Test
As Virginia Tech gets ready for its trip to Cal, James Franklin is spending as much time on uncertainty as on the opponent itself. He said there are still questions about how Cal wants to attack offensively, but he made it clear the Hokies are preparing for a quarterback they respect in Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, whose presence gives this road test a different kind of edge.
Franklin also revisited Grunkemeyers recent performance, offering a quick checkpoint on where Virginia Tech stands at the position before heading across the country. The bigger message, though, was about details the Hokies can control: protecting the ball, forcing turnovers on defense and tightening up in practice before a game where the margin could be shaped by whichever team handles the unknowns better. [Read more 🡒]