BLACKSBURG, Va. - Pitt is in Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech today. Here's the latest from Lane Stadium.

FIRST HALF

- Pitt won the coin toss and deferred, kicking off to Virginia Tech and giving the Hokies the first possession. The home team had success right aeay, converting a pair of third downs including a third-and-3 that saw receiver Chris Cunningham break three tackles to pick up 37 yards before he finally went down inside the Pitt 10.

Two plays later, redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Jackson ran into the end zone from four yards out, and Virginia Tech had an early lead.

VIRGINIA TECH 7, PITT 0 - 11:22, first quarter

- Pitt's first possession was predictably short. Ben DiNucci tried a deep pass to Jester Weah on first down, but it was broken up. A Darrin Hall run on second down gained just two yards, and DiNucci's third-down pass to Weah was off the mark.

- Virginia Tech's second possession didn't go as well as the first, though. Avonte Maddox broke up a fade pass on second down and a third-down pass was out of bounds, leading to a three-and-out and a punt.

- On Pitt's next drive, the Panthers found some success. Facing a third-and-12 from the Pitt 46, DiNucci hit Maurice Ffrench wide open over the middle of the field, and the sophomore receiver turned it into a 25-yard gain. Ffrench gained seven on a sweep on the next play, which was followed by a Darrin Hall three-yard run for a fresh set of downs inside the Virginia Tech 20.

After gaining the first down, Pitt's offense went into a hurry-up and DiNucci hit a pair of quick passes to Rafael Araujo-Lopes, who broke a tackle each time and got into the end zone after the second play.

PITT 7, VIRGINIA TECH 7 - 5:43, 1st quarter

- Pitt's defense forced another punt on Virginia Tech's next drive, but DiNucci made a fatal mistake when the Panthers got the ball back. After a Quadree Henderson sweep gained no yards, DiNucci ran play-action and dropped back to pass. VT got pressure and DiNucci scrambled before seeing Qadree Ollison down the right sideline. DiNucci threw for Ollison, but a VT defender jumped on the pass and made an interception.

- On the Hokies' next drive, they converted another pair of third downs to move into the red zone, bu Pitt's defense came up with a couple big tackles on run plays to force a field goal.

VIRGINIA TECH 10, PITT 7 - 11:15, 2nd quarter

- Pitt's next drive after the field goal was notable for the appearance of Kenny Pickett. The freshman quarterback took over for DiNucci, his first time on the field since the N.C. State game, and he ran for five yards on the first play. But Hall lost two yards on second down and Pickett's pass to Weah on third down was too high, leading to another Pitt punt.

- The Panthers' defense kept stepping up, though. They forced Virginia Tech into another three-and-out on the next drive, and after another Pitt punt, the defense came up with a huge play when Avonte Maddox, in his first playing time since getting hurt at Duke, played a Jackson pass well and made a diving interception.

- With the ball inside Virginia Tech territory, Pitt's offense had its best scoring chance of the day, and those chances improved when Henderson ran 26 yards on a jet sweep. Pitt got as close as the VT 12, though, before a handoff to Jordan Whitehead got blown up in the backfield, bringing out Alex Kessman for a 33-yard field goal.

Kessman's kick went wide right, though, and Pitt still trailed 10-7.

- Virginia Tech took over with 1:14 left in the first half, and Pitt had a chance to get the ball back with a decent amount of time. The defense forced a third-and-10 from the VT 20, but Jazzee Stocker missed a tackle on VT running back Jalen Holston, who picked up 11 yards on the play. The Hokies eventually punted and Pitt got the ball back with 30 seconds on the clock, but it wasn't enough to gain more than 21 yards, and Pitt went to halftime down by three points.

- After two quarters, Pitt had 158 yards on 31 plays (5.1 yards per play) and Virginia Tech had gained 203 yards on 44 plays (4.6 yards per play). DiNucci was 4-of-8 for 54 yards, one touchdown and one interception; Pickett completed 5-of-7 for 46 yards. Hall had seven yards on five carries, and as a team, Pitt had 58 rushing yards on 15 attempts.

Another key stat in the first half: Virginia Tech converted seven of its 12 third-down opportunities. Pitt was 1-of-5 on third down.

VIRGINIA TECH 10, PITT 7 - Halftime

- Pitt's start to the third quarter wasn't what the Panthers were hoping for. After Virginia Tech kicked off, Pitt had to call a timeout from the sideline before the offense even snapped the ball. When the Panthers finally ran a play, it didn't go well. Hall lost three yards, Pickett completed a 10-yard pass to Araujo-Lopes and Pickett was sacked to lead to a punt.

- The defense gave the ball right back on Virginia Tech's possession, forcing another three-and-out. But Pitt's offense couldn't stay on the field. Despite moving the sticks a couple times with a 17-yard pass to Weah and a 14-yard pass to Ffrench, Pickett's passes on second-and-long and third-and-long were well short, and the Panthers had to punt again.

- After Ryan Winslow's punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, Virginia Tech took over at its own 20 and the Hokies mounted their best drive since the game-opening possession that resulted in a touchdown. Keeping the ball mostly on the ground, VT drove into Pitt territory and seemed to be heading for its second touchdown. But the drive stalled at the Pitt 27, and a Jackson pass on fourth-and-3 was broken up by Dennis Briggs.

- Pitt took over at its own 27 and a Hall run on first down was stuffed for no gain. But on second down, Pickett took the snap, ran to his left and flipped the ball to Hall on a shovel pass in the middle of the field. Virginia Tech's defense parted and the junior running back took off for 44 yards. Pickett rolled out to hit Ollison for an 11-yard gain next, but the Panthers hit a wall once they got inside the 20.

On third-and-8 from the 16, Pickett and Weah weren't on the same page, and Pat Narduzzi sent his field-goal unit. Except that unit lined up in a swinging-gate formation with Hall lined up behind the long-snapper. The ball was snapped to Hall, who flipped the ball to punter/holder Ryan Winslow, who then pulled up to throw a 15-yard pass to former tight end and backup snapper Nate Bossory in the end zone.

PITT 14, VIRGINIA TECH 10 - 14:13, 4th quarter

- Virginia Tech came back on the field looking for an answer, and the Hokies found it in a variety of ways. After a VT receiver Cam Phillips broke a 36-yard gain on a slant pass early on the drive, the Hokies went to the ground game, running on the next six plays for 31 yards. But on third-and-7 from the Pitt 9, Maddox broke up a Jackson pass to force another field goal.

PITT 14, VIRGINIA TECH 13 - 9:34, 4th quarter

- After the field goal, Pitt was hoping for a nice long drive that ended with points. But after picking up a first down, Pickett rolled out to his right and threw downfield to Henderson. The pass was off the mark and VT intercepted it.

- Energized by the turnover, VT's offense went to the ground game, getting 17 yards out of three rushes by Deshawn McClease. Then, on third-and-9 from the 23, Jackson floated a pass to Phillips, who caught it against Maddox and got into the end zone for a touchdown.

On the ensuing two-point conversion, the Hokies appeared to convert, but an ineligible receiver penalty was called, and the home team had to settle for a one-point kick.

VIRGINIA TECH 20, PITT 14 - 6:23, 4th quarter

- Pitt's attempt to answer Virginia Tech's touchdown fell short when the Panthers couldn't gain more than one first down and had to punt. Pitt's defense stepped up, though, and stuffed Virginia Tech on three straight runs to get the ball back one more time.

After the Hokies punted, Pitt took over at its own 19 with 1:34 on the clock, and things looked grim. Pickett and Weah couldn't connect on first or second down, and Pickett scrambled for six yards on third down to set up a fourth-and-4 that seemed to be doomed. But on that play, Pickett finally hooked up with Weah, and the redshirt senior receiver shed a tackle to take off toward the end zone.

Weah didn't quite make it to the goal line, though. Virginia Tech defender Reggie Floyd caught him from behind at the 1.

From there, Pitt did the unthinkable: four plays from the opponent's 1, and not one crossed the goal line. Not Hall's runs on first or second down. Not the hurry-up pass to Weah on third down. And not the sweep for Hall out of the shotgun on fourth down - a three-yard loss to ended the game.

VIRGINIA TECH 20, PITT 14 - Final