Pitt Survives Virginia Tech, Improves to 5-0 Despite Heintschel Injury

It’s already week 5 of the college football season. Even though there were just two games on Thursday and three more Friday, we’ve already had our share of excitement.

On Thursday night, North Texas opened up AAC action with a 45-44 overtime win over Tulsa on the road. Meanwhile, Friday night saw Northwestern open up the new Ryan Field by putting the boots to Penn State. The final score was 34-13 but the game wasn’t that close as the Nittany Lions were thrashed 413-88 in rushing yards.

However, we’re focusing on one of the other Friday night games, where Pitt survived an injury and a last-second field goal attempt to remain unbeaten.

Pitt Runs Record to 5-0

Panthers Survive on the Road

Pitt had to work to the final gun Friday night but managed to outlast Virginia Tech 35-33 on the road Friday night. The Panthers improved to 5-0 overall and stand 2-0 in ACC play with the victory. Coach Pat Narduzzi said after the game that maybe the win would wake up some of the voters in the AP Top 25 poll about his team.

Pitt trailed 14-0 early and 24-14 late in the first half before rallying. The Panthers took a 35-24 lead with 13:55 on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Cataurus Hicks. However, they surrendered a safety and a two-play touchdown drive in the span of 55 seconds to trim the margin to 35-33 with still 10:07 remaining. After the teams traded punts, Virginia Tech drove 62 yards in 16 plays to set up a winning field goal attempt. However, John Love pulled a 36-yard field goal wide left as time expired to earn the win.

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Heintschel Suffers Injury

While Pitt survived the game to earn the victory, there was a damper put on the win. Starting quarterback Mason Heintschel suffered a knee injury in the game. He was seen on crutches in street clothes after the injury and Narduzzi wouldn’t give an update on his status Friday night.

In his stead was Holden Geriner, who has zero career starts to his credit. He spent time at Auburn and Texas State previously. Geriner threw the 29-yard touchdown to Hicks early in the fourth quarter that provided the winning points. That doubled his career total of passing touchdowns to two. He finished eight of 12 for 78 yards and a score in the game. In addition, he finished with one carry for three yards.

It’s unclear as to whether Heintschel can get back on the field in the near future or at all. It’s something that bears monitoring as the week goes on. Pitt survived with their backup QB for one week despite getting beaten 499-295 in total offense. The Panthers allowed 434 yards through the air to Ethan Grunkemeyer. They averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on the ground. Meanwhile, they did force four turnovers in the contest while not committing any in the game.

What’s Next

Pitt entered Saturday one of five unbeaten teams in ACC play. That number will drop by at least one as Miami faces Clemson in a battle of 2-0 squads in conference action. Duke and Virginia were 1-0 in ACC play entering Saturday.

The Panthers host North Carolina next Saturday, October 10, at noon ET. We’ll see if Heintschel suits up for Pitt or not.