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football Edit

Two in a row

Pitt is hosting Virginia at Heinz Field today. Keep up with the game here.

FIRST HALF

- Virginia won the coin toss and opted to defer, giving Pitt the ball to open the game. But the Panthers stalled after just three plays when Ben DiNucci over-shot Maurice Ffrench on a third-and-4, leading to a punt.

- Virginia's first offensive drive looked promising when the Cavaliers drove inside the Pitt 40, but on a third-and-5, Saleem Brightwell tipped a pass by Kurt Benkert and pulled in the interception for Pitt's second turnover in as many games.

- Pitt's second possession went better than the first. DiNucci hit Qadree Ollison for a 16-yard pickup on first down and then connecting for 25 yards on back-to-back passes to Quadree Henderson and Rafael Araujo-Lopes. After that, Darrin Hall took over, following a 4-yard run with a 14-yard scamper to the end zone - Hall's fourth touchdown in the last two games.

PITT 7, VIRGINIA 0 - 8:25, 1st quarter

- After Pitt's touchdown, Virginia looked like it was going to strike when the kickoff was returned 69 yards to the Pitt 28. But the Panthers' defense stepped up to force a three-and-out and A.J. Mejia's 43-yard field goal attempt missed the mark.

- Pitt's offense couldn't do anything with the resulting possession, going three-and-out on two incomplete passes and a jet sweep that lost one yard, but the defense stepped up again. Virginia drove inside Pitt's 30 and had a second-and-1 at the 28, but a screen pass was stopped for zero yards on that play. On third-and-1, Pitt went with a five-linemen personnel grouping and stuffed Cavaliers running back Jordan Ellis at the line of scrimmage.

Bronco Mendenhall opted to go for it on fourth down, but Pitt's defense - with the same personnel - stood tall and gave the ball back to the offense with another stuff at the line.

- Facing a long field, DiNucci and the offense set out looking to move the ball as the first quarter wound down, and the group had success. The Panthers faced a trio of third-down situations and nailed them all: a 32-yard pass from DiNucci to Ffrench on third-and-3, a three-yard run by Hall on third-and-2 and then a 19-yard pass from DiNucci to Jester Weah that converted third-and-7 and ended across the goal line, as Weah caught the pass, broke a tackle and ran into the end zone for a touchdown.

PITT 14, VIRGINIA 0 - 14:00, 2nd quarter

- Virginia's fourth drive was more of the same for both teams. The Cavaliers gained one first down, but a facemask penalty on the offense created a long-distance situation, and Pitt's defense forced another punt.

- Following another strong defensive stand, Pitt's offense started deep in its own territory. The ball moved, though, as Virginia was flagged for roughing the passer and pass interference to get the Panthers into Cavalier territory. The drive stalled at the 25, and Alex Kessman's 43-yard attempt went wide right.

- The defense came up with another three-and-out on Virginia's next drive, and the effort paid off on the punt when Henderson ran through the Virginia coverage unit for a 75-yard return to give Pitt its first three-touchdown lead against a Power Five opponent since the Panthers' win over Syracuse last season.

- Virginia finally got on the board with its next drive. After moving to a second-and-10 at the Cavs 40, Kurt Benkert lofted a 41-yard bomb to receiver Doni Dowling. And on the next snap, Benkert found receiver Hasise Dubois near the goal line for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

PITT 21, VIRGINIA 7 - 1:13, 2nd quarter

- DiNucci hit a 13-yard pass to start Pitt's final drive of the half, but a two-yard run and a 10-yard sack ended that possession - and the half - in short order.

PITT 21, VIRGINIA 7 - HALFTIME

- Pitt's defense picked up where it left off in the first half when Virginia took the ball to open the third quarter, forcing another punt on a three-and-out. And the Panthers' offense made it count, putting together an impressive drive that started at the Pitt 18, took 10 plays, five minutes and 43 seconds off the clock and concluded with a 25-yard touchdown run by Ollison.

The drive featured runs on nine of the 10 plays, and the ground game accounted for 70 of the 82 yards.

PITT 28, VIRGINIA 7 - 7;15, 3rd quarter

- After another Virginia punt, Pitt's offense made its first big mistake of the game. Facing third-and-8 from the Pitt 15, DiNucci tried a throw to tight end Matt Flanagan, but the pass was slightly overthrown and picked off by UVa safety Quin Blanding.

The Panthers' defense put in a valiant effort on the ensuing drive despite a personal foul on Brightwell. Virginia drove inside the 5 but was forced into a fourth-and-1 from the 2. On that play, Benkert found Richard Burney in the back of the end zone for a score.

PITT 28, VIRGINIA 14 - 14:54, 4th quarter

- Pitt's offense did what it needed to do on the next drive, taking nearly four minutes off the clock on an eight-play, 48-yard drive that resulted in a 30-yard field goal by Kessman.

PITT 31, VIRGINIA 14 - 11:09, 4th quarter

- Down 17 points, Virginia started a march from its 20 and put together a long drive, benefiting from a pair of personal foul penalties on Pitt - one on Brightwell and one on Shane Roy - but the Panthers dug deep for their biggest stop of the season. After Virginia running back Jordan Ellis took a handoff at the 10 and pushed the pile nine yards to the 1 to set up third-and-goal, Pitt stepped up. Using a jumbo package, the Panthers stopped Ellis on consecutive handoffs to give possession back to the offense.

The ensuing drive didn't produce much - three plays, seven yards and a punt - but the goal line stand was a statement.

- Virginia wasn't done yet, though. After a shanked punt by Ryan Winslow (and a bad snap before that), the Cavaliers put in a valiant effort to drive inside the Pitt 4. But a dropped pass in the end zone, a sack by James Folston and a pass breakup by Phillipie Motley ended it for Pitt.

PITT 31, VIRGINIA 14 - Final

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