Pitt football dominates Virginia Tech

Pitt football put up an incredible performance on Saturday throttling Virginia Tech by the score of 47-14. The Panthers were without 16 players due to COVID-19 protocols, but still managed to put up one of their most impressive performances of the season.

The Pitt offense was firing on all cylinders, with an air raid attack in the first half and a run focused second half. Senior quarterback Kenny Pickett threw the ball a whopping 40 times in the first half and finished the game completing 35 of 52 passes for 404 yards and two touchdowns. This big time performance from Pickett was matched by an astonishing game from wide receiver DJ Turner. Turner hauled in an incredible 15 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown. This was an outstanding performance for him and though he hasn’t been featured much in the offense this season, it could lead to him becoming a bigger part of the game plan for the Panther’s final two games.

After attacking the Hokies’ defense through the air in the first half, Pitt turned to the run game in the second half as its lead expanded. For the second straight week the Pitt run game showed that it can be effective as the Panthers picked up 152 yards on the ground with AJ Davis and Vincent Davis each picking up a touchdown and combining for 133 of those yards.

On the defensive side of the ball Pitt put up another monstrous performance, even without its leading tackler, SirVocea Dennis. The play up front was once again incredible and apart from a few long plays given up by the secondary the defense looked impenetrable. Although the two sacks and four tackles for a loss picked up by the defense was low relative to its typical numbers, the Pitt defense did a great job keeping Virginia Tech out of the end zone.

In fact, the Panthers made a goal line stand in the third quarter which led to a 99-yard touchdown drive for Pitt and managed their second straight second half shut out. This defense has once again shown that it just gets better as the game goes on and that it can shut down almost any offense.

These great performances on both sides of the ball were exactly what Pitt needed at this point in the season. After a four-game losing streak the Panthers season was in jeopardy of completely falling apart, but they have now gone out and put up two incredibly well-rounded performances that concluded in convincing wins. These wins not only significantly boosted their shot at a bowl game but should also give the Panthers the momentum they will need heading into their toughest matchup of the season.

Pitt will be taking on Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers in its next matchup and will need to be playing its best football to compete with such an immensely talented team. It seems that in its last two games Pitt has figured things out and has built the momentum it needed to finish the season strong. If the Panthers can play with the same intensity and discipline they have over their last two games they will not only compete with Clemson, but could have a shot to take down the Tigers and end the season on a big winning streak.