UVA dominated play in the second half, but the Cavs once again couldn’t overcome their own mistakes in a 26-19 loss at Pitt in their ACC opener on Saturday.
Virginia (1-4, 0-1 ACC) made a game of it after falling behind 17-3 in the first, with Pitt gaining 217 yards of total offense in the opening 15 minutes and seemingly on its way to a blowout win.
The Panthers (4-1, 2-0 ACC) gained only 40 yards in the second quarter, and the Pitt offense surrendered the only points of the quarter, on a fumble by quarterback Nate Peterman that Kwontie Moore returned 15 yards for a touchdown that made it 17-10 at halftime.
Virginia took its first drive of the second half deep into Pitt territory, but Matt Johns was intercepted by Matt Galambos at the Panthers 29, and the 51-yard return set up Pitt at the UVA 20.
Two plays later, Nate Peterman connected with Tyler Boyd on an 8-yard TD pass that made it 24-10 Pitt.
Ian Frye connected on a 26-yard field goal with 4:02 left in the third that made it 24-13.
Virginia got a big break when Qadree Ollison fumbled at the UVA 1 to end a Pitt drive, but Johns was sacked in the end zone on third down to make it 26-13 Panthers with 13:23 left.
The ‘Hoos were not done, though. Johns hit Canaan Severin in the right corner of the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 26-19.
UVA would get one more chance after forcing a Panthers three-and-out. Facing a fourth-and-23 at the UVA 15, Johns kept the drive alive with a 32-yard completion to Thorpe that gave the Cavaliers a first down near midfield.
Johns connected with Keeon Johnson for 11 yards on the next play from scrimmage to give Virginia a first down at the Pitt 42, but that would be where the drive would stall.
The final play was a fourth-and-10 pass intended for Thorpe that was incomplete with 28 seconds left.
Game Notes
- Pitt outgained Virginia 363-348, but gained only 146 yards of total offense in the final three quarters.
- UVA ran 31 times for 139 yards against the Pitt D, which had come into the game ranked fourth nationally against the run.
- Johns was 17-for-33 passing for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception, with a 108.7 passer rating.
- Pitt ran 35 times for 141 yards. Peterman was 17-for-24 passing for 222 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and a 176.0 passer rating.
- Micah Kiser led the Virginia defense with 11 tackles, seven solo. Mike Moore had a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.
- Pitt’s two turnovers were the first for a UVA opponent this season.
– Story by Chris Graham
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