CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Pitt is at Scott Stadium tonight to face No. 23 Virginia in a huge Coastal Division matchup.
FIRST QUARTER
Pitt won the coin toss and deferred, kicking off to Virginia to open the game. On the Cavaliers' first drive, they hurt themselves with three penalties , and despite converting one third-and-long, they couldn't hit on third-and-25 and had to punt.
Pitt's first drive was in a tough spot, too, due to a penalty, as a false start set up first-and-15 from the Pitt 11. But Kenny Pickett and Aaron Mathews hooked up for a nice 31-yard catch-and-run to move the chains, and an 11-yard pass to Taysir Mack - his first reception since returning from injury - moved the ball to midfield for a fourth-and-1.
Pitt went for it on fourth down and got it with a Pickett sneak, and two plays later, Darrin Hall got through a hole on the left side to run 41 yards for the game's first touchdown.
PITT 7, VIRGINIA 0 (6:09, 1st quarter)
Virginia didn't take long to respond, as quarterback Bryce Perkins got receiver Terrell Jana wide open down the sideline on a busted coverage for a quick 42-yard touchdown.
PITT 7, VIRGINIA 7 (5:54, 1st quarter)
Neither team scored again in the first quarter, but they did take more penalties - four more, to be exact, for a total of 10 between the two teams in the opening 15 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER
Pitt's defense came up with a big play on Virginia's first play of the second quarter, as Perkins hit tight end Tanner Cowely to convert a fourth down, but Dane Jackson stripped the ball and forced a turnover for the Panthers.
Pitt's offense couldn't move past midfield on the next drive, but the Panthers' defense managed another big play when UVa. got the ball back. ON first down from the Virginia 43, Dewayne Hendrix and Shane Roy teamed up to sack Perkins for a 15-yard loss, and the Cavaliers couldn't recover from the resulting second-and-25.
The Virginia punt rolled all the way to the 1, putting Pitt in a tough spot, and while the Panthers managed to move away from their own goal line with a fourth-down attempt from the 10, they had to punt after Virginia's pressure got to Pickett.
The Cavaliers got the ball back with 1:15 on the clock and rattled off 36 yards on three plays to move across midfield without taking a timeout. It looked like Pitt's defense had made another big play when Rashad Weaver sacked Perkins at the Pitt 21 for a three-yard loss, but Patrick Jones was called for targeting, pushing the Cavaliers well inside the red zone.
UVa. kicker Brian Delaney connected from 29 yards with six seconds left, and the Cavaliers took a 10-7 lead into halftime.
VIRGINIA 10, PITT 7 (Halftime)
THIRD QUARTER
Pitt got the ball to start the second half, and Pickett got things started by scrambling for 12 yards to convert third-and-12 from the Pitt 23. But a holding penalty on the next play created a first-and-20 that the Panthers couldn't overcome, and they punted away their first possession of the third quarter.
Virginia's defense couldn't capitalize on the punt, though. The Cavaliers gained one first down but a false start and two incomplete passes doomed their drive, and the home team had to punt as well.
On its second possession of the third quarter, Pitt's offense got into a groove. With the help of a horse collar penalty that converted a third-and-12, the Panthers got their run game going and converted a third down for the first time in the game. In fact, Pitt converted not just one but three third downs as Hall and Ollison started finding more running room.
The drive culminated with Hall going in from two yards out to give Pitt the lead. The senior running back had 50 yards on eight rushing attempts on the drive.
PITT 14, VIRGINIA 10 (0:21, 3rd quarter)
FOURTH QUARTER
Virginia had the ball to open the fourth quarter and drove inside the Pitt 30, but once again, the Panthers' defense came up with some big plays. On first down from the 22, Dewayne Hendrix sacked Perkins for a three-yard loss. Perkins completed a three-yard pass on second down, but on third-and-10 from the 22, Weaver and Amir Watts got to Perkins for a two-yard loss and the Cavaliers had to settle for another field goal from Delaney.
PITT 14, VIRGINIA 13 (9:51, 4th quarter)
Pitt took the ball looking for a long drive to kill the clock, but it didn't exactly work out that way. Instead, Hall took a handoff on first down, found a big hole and took off in a foot race for a 75-yard touchdown, his third score of the day.
Jake Scarton dropped the hold on the extra point, but Pitt extended its lead to a touchdown.
PITT 20, VIRGINIA 13 (9:40, 4th quarter)
Pitt's defense matched the offense by pitching its first three-and-out of the game, getting the ball back to the offense with a Virginia punt. The Panthers took the ball with 7:32 on the clock and looked to milk it, forcing a steady diet of Hall and Ollison to move across midfield. The drive stumbled when Pickett and Shocky Jacques-Louis couldn't convert a third down, but Alex Kessman hit a 53-yard field goal to put the Panthers ahead by 10.
PITT 23, VIRGINIA 13 (4:25, 4th quarter)
After the field goal, Pitt's defense did it again, stopping Virginia for a pair of short gains and then recording a 16-yard sack on third-and-1. The Cavaliers tried a deep pass on fourth-and-17, but Damarri Mathis broke it up to secure the win.
Hall had his best game of the season, finishing with 229 yards and three touchdowns on 19 rushing attempts. Pitt out-gained Virginia 319-249 and allowed the Cavaliers to gain just 56 net yards in the second half.
The Panthers (5-4 overall, 4-1 ACC) will host Virginia Tech next Saturday at Heinz Field.
