Pittsburgh has been here before.
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“Two weeks in a row”, Narduzzi said of his defense, which closed out a 17-13 win at Virginia Tech the previous Saturday.
It certainly feels different.
Virginia wide receiver T.J. Thorpe (8) can’t get to a fourth down… He put a stop to it. “Put us out there.’ We want the stress on us so we can get the job done”. We’ve talked about that. Those are opportunities to get points and we have to capitalize on those situations. “We’re not taking that route and kids believe”.
The Cavaliers drove the ball down the field on their final possession after converting on 4th and 25. I suspect many in the announced crowd of 45,237 Saturday at Heinz Field felt the same way. “You’re not going to get every call, but I still think I could have made that catch”.
Nate Peterman passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns for Pitt. James toted the ball only 11 times but still picked up 94 yards and averaged 8.4 yards per carry.
Virginia also thwarted a late drive by the Panthers when linebacker Micah Kiser drilled Ollison as he attempted to score.
Despite the Panthers’ 26-19 win over Virginia, that notion still holds true.
Junior quarterback Matt Johns completed 17-33 passes for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Cavaliers have dropped 12 straight road games dating back to 2012.
“We battled today but not good enough to win a football game”, Virginia coach Mike London said.
Pitt raced out to a quick 17-3 lead with the Peterman to Orndoff touchdown and a Chris James 48 yard run to set up an Ollison 4-yard touchdown. Virginia almost upset Notre Dame last month only to lose in the final moments and the last time the Cavaliers took the field, Boise State promptly ran them off it in a nationally televised 56-14 thumping. Several times the Cavaliers had receivers running open deep in the secondary in the first half only to narrowly miss a momentum-turning play.
The defense also produced a fourth-quarter safety on a sack by linebacker Mike Caprara, who filled in for Grigsby. Senior defensive end Kwontie Moore’s second quarter 15-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the Cavaliers’ first takeaway of the season.
PROTECTION: Virginia quarterback Matt Johns was harassed all game during that miserable September 25 loss to Boise State, much like the Panthers harassed Virginia Tech’s Brenden Motley last week. When Johns was tackled in the end zone for a safety, the Panthers were up 26-13. But Johns came back with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Canaan Severin with 5:50 remaining to give U.Va. a chance at the end. Johns’ fourth-down heave to Thorpe seemed to give Virginia hope but the win the Cavaliers desperately need to breathe a few life into a disappointing season never materialized.
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“We’ll eventually figure out a way we can do it a little easier”, Narduzzi said. He didn’t play the following week against Akron and was used sparingly against Iowa (two carries).
