Pitt : Football Hosts Thursday Night ACC Showdown with Virginia Tech
By Kipper
@pghsportsforum
Nice preview article for Thursday's contest against Virginia Tech at Heinz Field. It doesn't get any bigger than this for the 2014 Pittsburgh Panthers football team.
http://http://www.pittsburghpanthers...101314aab.html
"Football hosts Thursday night ACC showdown with Virginia Tech
The Panthers and Hokies will play before a national ESPN television audience.
Oct. 13, 2014
Pitt (3-3, 1-1 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech (4-2, 1-1 ACC)
Date Thursday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Location Heinz Field (65,500/Natural Grass) / Pittsburgh, Pa.
Television ESPN
Radio 93.7 The Fan and the Pitt IMG Sports Radio Network
Online Live Audio Stream on Panthers All-Access | Gametracker
Game Notes / Stats Pitt Game Notes | Pitt Season Stats
Promotions Breast Cancer Awareness
Social Media @GoPittFootball - Twitter / Instagram / #PITTvsVT
Game Storylines
• Pitt looks to keep pace in the ACC Coastal Division race when it hosts Virginia Tech for an ESPN nationally televised Thursday night game. Annual foes as Coastal Division members, the Panthers and Hokies are both 1-1 in ACC play.
• The Panthers have won their last three games against Virginia Tech at Heinz Field, including a 35-17 win in 2012 that marked Paul Chryst’s first career head coaching victory.
• The Panthers and Hokies played each year from 1993-2003 as members of the Big East, building a rivalry that became one of the league’s most intense and exciting.
• The 2003 meeting ranks among the most exciting games ever played at Heinz—college or pro. In a game that featured six lead changes, Pitt defeated No. 5 Virginia Tech, 31-28, on Lousaka Polite’s two-yard TD plunge with 47 seconds left.
• Pitt sophomore running back James Conner leads the ACC and ranks fifth nationally in total rushing yards (874). Conner also tops the ACC and is seventh in the country in rushing touchdowns (nine).
• Pitt boasts the nation’s No. 4 defense, yielding only 278.7 yards in total offense per game. The Panthers are giving up just 19 points per contest to rank 17th nationally.
• Virginia Tech also features one of the country’s top defenses. The Hokies rank 16th nationally in rushing defense (108.8 avg.), 21st in total defense (325.2 avg.) and 23rd in scoring defense (19.8 ppg.).
• The Panthers are fielding one of their youngest rosters in memory. Pitt went through the preseason with 81 underclassmen (53 freshmen and 28 sophomores), the highest total of any Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team in the country.
Pitt-Virginia Tech History in Brief
Series Began: 1993
Series Overall: VT leads 8-5
ACC Series: VT leads 1-0
At Pittsburgh: Pitt leads 4-3
At Virginia Tech: VT leads 5-1
At Neutral Sites: DNA
Last Meeting at Pitt: Sept. 15, 2012 (Pitt 35, Virginia Tech 17)
Last Meeting at VT: Oct. 12, 2013 (Virginia Tech 19, Pitt 9)
Current Series Streak: VT has won 1 (2013)
Longest Pitt Series Win Streak:4 games (2001-03, 2012)
Longest Virginia Tech Series Win Streak: 4 games (1993-96)
Largest Pitt Victory Margin: 31 points (38-7, 2001)
Largest VT Victory Margin: 42 points (63-21, 1993)
Pitt-Virginia Tech Series Notes
This marks the 14th meeting between Pitt and Virginia Tech in a series that dates back to 1993...it is the second Atlantic Coast Conference game between the two schools...the Panthers and Hokies meet annually as members of the ACC’s Coastal Division...Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 8-5...each of Pitt’s five victories have come against nationally ranked Virginia Tech squads (No. 13 in 2012, No. 5 in 2003, No. 3 in 2002, No. 12/13 in 2001 and No. 19/20 in 1997)...the initial 11 games of the series were played when both schools were members of the Big East Conference...Virginia Tech won last year’s game in Blacksburg, 19-9, halting Pitt’s four-game winning streak vs. the Hokies...the Panthers’ last series win was a 35-17 decision in 2012 at Heinz Field, which also marked Paul Chryst’s first career win as Pitt’s head coach...Pitt is 4-3 at home and 1-5 on the road against Virginia Tech...the Panthers’ lone win in Blacksburg occurred in 2002 when freshman receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught three touchdowns in a 28-21 upset of the previously unbeaten Hokies...perhaps the most memorable game in Pittsburgh occurred in 2003 when a late touchdown by fullback Lousaka Polite lifted Pitt past the Hokies, 31-28, in an ESPN primetime battle of Top 25 teams...the Panthers lost the initial four games of the series before earning their first victory in 1997, a 30-23 decision at Pitt Stadium.
Pitt- Virginia Tech Broadcast Information
Television • ESPN
Rece Davis, play-by-play
Jesse Palmer, analyst
David Pollack, analyst
Samantha Ponder, reporter
Pitt Radio • 93.7 The Fan & the Pitt IMG Sports Network
Bill Hillgrove, play-by-play
Pat Bostick, analyst
Larry Richert, reporter
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Sirius Channel 84, XM Channel 84
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) • 92.1 FM
—PITT—"
I'm getting pumped. Wish I lived back there. Tickets are cheap!