Virginia Tech will head into Friday night’s ACC matchup with Pitt carrying familiar status: the favorite.
For the fifth straight week, the Hokies are expected to open as the team to beat. FanDuel Sportsbook has Virginia Tech as a 5.5-point favorite, with the total set at 52.5 points for the 7 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN.
Both teams arrive unbeaten and already 1-0 in conference play, which gives this one an early-season edge without requiring any embellishment. Pitt got its ACC slate started with a 27-13 win over Syracuse, while Virginia Tech is 4-0 for the first time since 2017.
The Panthers have leaned heavily on quarterback Mason Heintschel, who has piled up 1,191 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and just one interception through four games. Most of that damage came in two outbursts - seven touchdown passes against Miami (OH) and six against Bucknell.
In Pitt’s other two games, against UCF on Sept. 12 and Syracuse on Sept. 17, Heintschel went 28-for-51 for 335 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
Virginia Tech’s unbeaten start has come through a mix of blowouts and a tighter finish. The Hokies rolled past VMI 73-3, handled Old Dominion 44-21, beat Maryland 35-26 and then survived Boston College 21-14.
That Boston College game was the first time Virginia Tech trailed all season, and it also produced the kind of comeback win that can change the mood around a team. The Eagles moved in front 7-6, led by as many as eight, and Virginia Tech answered with a receiving touchdown from Marlion Jackson and a 76-yard touchdown run by Jeffrey Overton Jr. to complete a 15-point rally for Franklin’s first one-score win with the Hokies.
Overton was the headliner on the ground, finishing with 209 rushing yards and 140 of them coming in the final quarter. That total was the most by a Virginia Tech player since Bhayshul Tuten set the school record for single-game rushing yardage in November 2024 against Boston College.
He carried 25 of Virginia Tech’s 42 rushing attempts, while starting tailback Marcellous Hawkins had three. Junior quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 22 of 35 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Through four games, Grunkemeyer has gone 101-for-136, a 74.2% completion rate, for 1,012 passing yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. The Boston College game was the first time he finished with fewer than 200 passing yards and fewer than two passing touchdowns.
Virginia Tech’s defense had to absorb plenty of pressure as well. Boston College quarterback Mason McKenzie ran for 138 yards and threw for 111, but the Hokies came up with three sacks, including one after the Eagles reached the Virginia Tech 22-yard line following a Hawkins fumble.
Cortez Harris led that effort with two sacks, three tackles and two quarterback hurries. Aycen Stevens added the other sack.
Now the Hokies turn from surviving Boston College to facing a Pitt team that has already shown it can light up the scoreboard.
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Virginia Techs home date with Pitt on Oct. 2 comes with more than just early-season conference weight. Both teams are unbeaten in ACC play, and the Hokies are also hovering just outside the AP Top 25, so there is a little extra to play for beyond the usual race-positioning that comes with a league matchup in October. Add in Pitts first road game of the season and the stage is set for a test that should tell a lot about where Virginia Tech really stands.
The matchup also carries plenty of familiar football layers, from key players on both sides to the coaching background that comes with a game this meaningful in conference play. Virginia Techs defense has been central to its start, and Pitt arrives with its own profile worth measuring against. For the Hokies, the real question is whether this is the kind of win that pushes them closer to the ranking conversation, or simply keeps them in it for another week. [Read more 🡒]
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Virginia Techs defense also adds another layer to the matchup, especially when stacked against Pitts numbers on that side of the ball. With unbeaten records on the line and betting interest already circling the game, this one feels like more than an early-season curiosity, it is the kind of game that can start sorting out which undefeated start is built to last. [Read more 🡒]