One Kick Short: Hokies Erase 11-Point Hole in Under 4 Minutes, Then Lose 35-33 to Pitt
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech did everything Friday night except finish. The Hokies outgained Pitt by more than 160 yards, rallied from 11 down in less than four minutes and marched to the Panthers' 18-yard line with the clock bleeding out. Then John Love's 36-yard field goal sailed wide as time expired, and Pitt escaped Lane Stadium with a 35-33 victory.
The loss dropped the Hokies to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. Pitt, which also came in 4-0, improved to 5-0 and 2-0 in the conference.
A start that shook the stadium
Virginia Tech wasted no time. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer opened with a 23-yard completion to tight end Luke Reynolds, and running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. ripped off 14 more. Then Que'Sean Brown took a screen pass, found his blockers and sprinted 38 yards to the end zone. The opening drive took four plays and 1:16.
Pitt, riding a 59-0 win over Bucknell, couldn't find an answer. The Panthers went three-and-out as passes were broken up by Kaleb Wylie and Noah Chambers, and the Hokies came right back.
Overton gained 8 yards to start the next drive. Then, with pressure bearing down, Grunkemeyer let one fly down the left sideline, and Brown hauled it in with a defender draped on him for 43 yards. A roughing-the-passer flag moved the ball to the Pitt 7, and on third-and-goal from the 1, Grunkemeyer pushed through the line himself. The Hokies led 14-0 with 10:08 left in the first quarter.
Virginia Tech's defense, which entered the game with 17 sacks, third in the FBS, announced itself on Pitt's next possession. Aycen Stevens dropped Mason Heintschel for a 9-yard loss, and the Panthers punted again.
Pitt punches back
The Panthers didn't stay down. Heintschel's 30-yard completion set up J. Turner's 20-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left in the quarter, cutting it to 14-7. Love added a 26-yard field goal early in the second, but Pitt answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that was kept alive by three Virginia Tech personal fouls. L. Wright's 1-yard run made it 17-14.
Tech's reply was its best drive of the night. Grunkemeyer hit Brown for 51 yards on the first snap, and two pass-interference penalties pushed the Hokies back to second-and-17. They kept going. Grunkemeyer found M. Hawkins for 9, then Ayden Greene for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 24-14 with 3:18 left in the half.
The swing
Everything changed before the break. Grunkemeyer was intercepted by C. Lindsey at the Tech 23, and a replay review upheld the call. Two plays later, Heintschel found C. Hicks for a 22-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left. A 10-point lead had shrunk to 24-21 at halftime. Pitt was breathing life again and Tech needed to answer in the second half.
Pitt took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards in 10 plays, with D. Ferguson Jr. punching in a 15-yard touchdown for a 28-24 lead, the Panthers' first of the night.
Virginia Tech's offense went cold. A 6-play drive produced 3 yards and ended when J. Moore sacked Grunkemeyer and the ball popped loose at the Tech 28. The Hokies' defense held, forcing a turnover on downs, but the offense gave nothing back. Tech went four plays, minus-1 yard, and punted. After another defensive stand, Overton fumbled after a 9-yard loss, and Pitt's I. Neal recovered at the Tech 41.
Heintschel, who suffered an apparent leg injury in the second half, was later seen on the sideline on crutches. H. Geriner took over at quarterback and made it count. Early in the fourth quarter, Geriner found Hicks for a 29-yard touchdown, and it was 35-24.
The comeback
Then the Hokies did something remarkable. First, Grunkemeyer hit Greene for 48 yards to the Pitt 22, but S. Lee intercepted the next pass at the Pitt 3, a seeming dagger. Instead, the defense turned it into a lifeline. On the first snap from his own 3, Ferguson was swallowed by Chambers in the end zone for a safety, making it 35-26.
Overton fielded the free kick at the 8-yard line and raced 62 yards to the Pitt 30. Two plays and 44 seconds later, Grunkemeyer lofted a deep ball to Davion Brown for a 28-yard touchdown. Love's extra point cut it to 35-33 with 10:07 to play. An 11-point deficit was gone in 3 minutes, 48 seconds.
The final possession
Both defenses took over. Pitt went three-and-out, then went three-and-out again, gaining 13 net yards across two possessions. Virginia Tech's offense went three-and-out in between.
The Hokies finally got the ball at their own 20 with 3:54 left and needed a field goal to win. Grunkemeyer fumbled on a quarterback run at the Tech 41, but left tackle Logan Howland recovered. Two plays later, facing fourth-and-5, Grunkemeyer found Reynolds for 23 yards. Overton ran for 10 to the Pitt 19. Hawkins gained 2 on third down. Both teams called timeout with 3 seconds left.
Love's 36-yard attempt missed, and the Pitt sideline erupted.
According to the official stats, Virginia Tech outgained Pitt 458 yards to 295, but committed four turnovers. Grunkemeyer threw three touchdown passes and ran for another. In a two-point game, the turnovers decided it.
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