How Pitt Beat Virginia Tech 35-33: Four Turnovers, a Backup QB and a 36-Yard Kick

Pittsburgh beat Virginia Tech 35-33 on Friday night, Oct. 2, 2026, coming back from a 14-0 deficit at Lane Stadium after the Hokies turned the ball over four times and John Love’s 36-yard field goal try as time expired was ruled no good. Both ACC teams entered the game in Blacksburg, Virginia, at 4-0 and unranked. This recap follows ESPN’s play log and box score and the Associated Press game story.

What was the final score of Pitt vs. Virginia Tech?

Pitt won 35-33, a game Virginia Tech led at halftime, 24-21, before the Panthers took control in the second half. By quarter, Pitt scored 7-14-7-7 and Virginia Tech 14-10-0-9. The Panthers improved to 5-0 (2-0 ACC), while the Hokies fell to 4-1 (1-1), the first loss for James Franklin since he became Virginia Tech’s head coach. Kickoff was at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the AP noted that Pitt remained one of three unbeaten ACC teams after Friday night.

How did Pitt come back from 14-0 down?

Pitt scored 21 straight points, going from a 24-14 deficit late in the second quarter to a 35-24 lead early in the fourth, and both of Cataurus Hicks’s touchdown catches came right after a Virginia Tech turnover. Que’Sean Brown’s 38-yard touchdown catch and a 1-yard run by quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer gave Virginia Tech the 14-0 start. Ja’Kyrian Turner’s 20-yard run and La’Vell Wright’s 1-yard run kept Pitt close, but Grunkemeyer’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Greene made it 24-14 with 3:18 left in the half.

Then Cameron Lindsey intercepted Grunkemeyer, and Mason Heintschel hit Hicks for a 22-yard touchdown with 31 seconds left, cutting it to 24-21 at the break. Damon Ferguson Jr. ran 15 yards for a score on Pitt’s first drive of the second half, and backup Holden Geriner’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Hicks with 13:55 left in the fourth quarter made it 35-24. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi credited his players’ belief and said they never gave in.

How did four turnovers decide the game?

Virginia Tech’s four turnovers, two interceptions and two lost fumbles, led to 14 Pitt points, and Pitt did not turn the ball over once. The costliest were Lindsey’s interception late in the second quarter and a Jeffrey Overton Jr. fumble, recovered by Pitt at the Tech 41 with under a minute left in the third quarter, which set up Hicks’s second touchdown. A Grunkemeyer fumble on a sack produced no points because Pitt turned the ball over on downs. Shawn Lee Jr.’s interception at the Pitt 3-yard line with 11:49 left ended a 57-yard Tech drive, and Pitt was then tackled in its own end zone for a safety that made it 35-26.

Virginia Tech still outgained Pitt by more than 200 yards. After the safety, a 62-yard kickoff return by Overton set up a 28-yard touchdown pass from Grunkemeyer to Davion Brown, and the Hokies had cut the lead to 35-33 with 10:07 left, nine points in under a minute. Penalties are shown below as number-yards and third downs as conversions-attempts.

Grunkemeyer was 30-of-41 for a career-high 434 yards, three touchdown passes and two interceptions, plus a rushing touchdown. Virginia Tech’s 65 rushing yards on 32 carries were fewer than its 82 penalty yards.

What happened on Virginia Tech’s final field goal attempt?

Love’s 36-yard try from the right hash as time expired was ruled no good by the official under the upright, and under college football’s replay rules a kick that passes above the top of the uprights cannot be reviewed. Virginia Tech had driven 62 yards on its last possession to set up the kick.

Accounts of the ball’s flight differ. The AP wrote that Love hooked the attempt wide left. Other outlets reported that it passed at or just above the top of the left upright, and some viewers believed ESPN’s end-zone camera and fan videos showed it slipping inside. A later angle reported by one outlet appeared to show it just outside the upright.

We are not asserting that the kick was good or that the officials were wrong. The ruling on the field was no good, and the 35-33 result stands. As of Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3, we had not found a public statement from the ACC about the call.

Franklin said afterward, “Everyone is going to focus on the last play.” According to the AP, he added that there were 20 plays his team could have made earlier to avoid that spot. Postgame reports also say he stood behind Love.

What do we know about Mason Heintschel’s injury?

Pitt starting quarterback Mason Heintschel left the game on the fourth play of the second half with what reports describe as an apparent right knee injury, and he did not return. According to the AP, Narduzzi declined to give specifics afterward, and Heintschel was seen on crutches. He had completed 10 of 18 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown before leaving.

As of Saturday afternoon, Oct. 3, we had not found an official diagnosis or status update from Pitt, so we are not guessing at severity or a timeline. Geriner, a fifth-year senior who played at Auburn and Texas State before enrolling at Pitt in January and who turned 23 on game day, finished 8-of-12 for 78 yards and the touchdown. He said he would be ready to lead the offense if Heintschel is out for an extended period.

What happens next for Pitt and Virginia Tech?

Both teams play Saturday, Oct. 10: Pitt hosts North Carolina, and Virginia Tech visits California. Neither team was ranked entering Friday’s game, and any change will show up in the AP Top 25 released Sunday, Oct. 4. We are not projecting where either team lands.

The result evened the all-time series at 12-12, after Virginia Tech led 12-11 going in, and it was Pitt’s first win at Lane Stadium since 2021. For Pitt, the quarterback situation is the thing to watch. For Virginia Tech, the film session starts with four turnovers and eight penalties in a game where it outgained its opponent 499-295.