Pittsburgh rallies from 14-point deficit, remains unbeaten with 35-33 victory over Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia Tech’s John Love missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired, and Pittsburgh survived for a 35-33 victory over the Hokies on Friday.

Pittsburgh quarterback Holden Geriner came off the bench to throw a touchdown pass, and Ja’Kyrian Turner added a rushing touchdown for the Panthers (5-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who remain one of three unbeaten teams in the ACC.

Pittsburgh trailed 14-0, but scored 21 unanswered points at one point to come from behind and then held on, all despite losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to an injury on the fourth play of the second half.

“Just finding a different way to win,” Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi said. “We talk about respect. I hope the country will respect the Panthers now.

“I tell our guys all the time that there’s going to be ups and downs. Our guys rode the wave and never gave in. They never batted an eye. They believed until the end. Faith and belief, that’s what this football team’s got. They’ve got a lot of guts in that locker room.”

Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-1) controlled much of the first half, but the Hokies started unraveling when Cameron Lindsey's interception of Ethan Grunkemeyer led to a 22-yard touchdown pass from Heintschel to Cataurus Hicks with 31 seconds left in the half, cutting the Virginia Tech lead to 24-21.

That was the first of four turnovers for the Hokies, and the Panthers turned those into 14 points.

Pittsburgh took a 28-24 lead on a 15-yard touchdown run by Damon Ferguson Jr. on the Panthers’ first drive of the second half and then took a 35-24 lead on Geriner’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Hicks early in the fourth quarter before holding on.

Virginia Tech cut the lead to 35-33 on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Grunkemeyer to Davion Brown with 10:07 remaining and then Grunkemeyer drove the Hokies 62 yards to set up Love’s game-winning attempt on Hokies' final possession. Love hooked the attempt wide left.

“We had a chance to win it at the end,” Virginia Tech coach James Franklin said. “Everyone is going to focus on the last play. This isn’t coachspeak, but we’re going to watch this tape and there are going to be 20 plays that we could have made to put us in a better position and not be in that situation at the end.”

Grunkemeyer threw for a career-high 434 yards for the Hokies, who outgained Pittsburgh 499-295.

Pittsburgh: The Panthers are 5-0 for the second time in three years, but now await news on the severity of Heintschel’s injury. Geriner — who was celebrating his 23rd birthday — played well in relief, completing 8 of 12 for 78 yards and the touchdown.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies will be lamenting this one for a while after jumping out to a big lead and then rallying from a 35-24 deficit to give themselves a chance to win.

Following the game, Narduzzi wouldn’t get into specifics on Heintschel’s injury, though the quarterback was seen on crutches. Geriner said he would be ready to assume command of the Panthers’ offense if Heintschel is out for an extended period of time. The fifth-year senior, who played at both Auburn and Texas State before enrolling at Pittsburgh in January, threw his second touchdown pass as a collegian.

“This is what I’ve prayed for my whole life. My thoughts and prayers are with Mason. If that’s the case, I’m going to do everything I can to continue preparing, as I’ve been doing, to lead this team.”

Pittsburgh: Hosts North Carolina on Oct. 10

Virginia Tech: Plays at California on Oct. 10

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