Virginia Tech scored two touchdowns in a nine-second span in the first quarter, and never looked back in a 28-0 rout of Pitt on Saturday in Blacksburg, setting up a winner-take-all Coastal Division showdown with Virginia next week in Charlottesville.
The Hokies (8-3, 5-2 ACC) have won six of seven since a dispiriting 45-10 home loss to Duke on Sept. 27, the lone loss a 21-20 setback at Notre Dame earlier this month.
Pitt (7-4, 4-3 ACC) had won five of its last six coming in, but the Panthers could only manage 177 yards total offense on the rainy, blustery day in Lane Stadium.
Virginia Tech didn’t do all that much on its side, putting up 263 total yards, but did put together two 90-yard drives around the Norell Pollard scoop-and-score to go into the halftime break up 21-0.
The fourth-quarter score came after Pitt failed to convert a fourth down deep in its own territory, ahead of a Hendon Hooker-to-Damon Hazelton 2-yard TD pass that put a game already out reach even further out of reach.
Hooker had a quite efficient day, particularly given the awful weather, going 10-for-13 passing for 153 yards and two TDs.