PantherLair Postgame Show-Pitt gets big road win over Virginia Tech. Coastal Division looks even more winnable now. Good, bad and ugly plus three key plays from the game.
GAME STORYLINES
• Pitt looks to build on its 3-1 start when it hosts ACC Coastal Division foe Virginia this Saturday. The Panthers are back at Heinz Field following three consecutive away games. Pitt completed its road swing with a 17-13 victory over Virginia Tech in its ACC opener.
• The Cavaliers visit Heinz Field with a 1-3 mark. However, their three losses are to teams with a combined 12-3 record (UCLA, Notre Dame and Boise State). Virginia defeated Pitt last year, 24-19.
• A win over Virginia would give Pitt its first 4-1 start since the 2009 season. The Panthers have opened with a 4-1 record five times in the past 15 seasons. Since joining the ACC in 2013, Pitt has never won its opening two league games.
• The Panthers enter the Virginia contest with 699 all-time wins. A victory over UVA would make Pitt just the 19th Bowl Subdivision team to achieve 700 all-time wins.
• Pitt boasts one of the country’s most productive defenses. The Panthers own national top-5 rankings in quarterback sacks (second, an ACC-best 4.25 sacks/game), rushing defense (fourth, 71.3 yards/game) and total defense (fourth, 243.8 yards/game).
• With their seven sacks at Virginia Tech, the Panthers now have 17 through four games. In comparison, the Panthers had only 19 sacks in 13 contests last year.
• Twelve different Pitt players have been in on sacks this season. Senior defensive end Ejuan Price paces the team with three sacks followed by senior linebacker Nicholas Grigsby with 2.5.
• On the other side of the ball, Pitt features a viable All-America and ACC Offensive Player of the Year candidate in receiver Tyler Boyd. The junior leads the ACC in receptions (8.7 avg.) and receiving yards (91.3 avg.) per game. Boyd is the nation’s active career leader with 6.52 catches per contest.