Pitt Panthers Spoil Big Night, Defeat Virginia Cavaliers, 23-13

In a hard-hitting ACC Coastal Division clash, No. 23 Virginia gave up three Pittsburgh rushing touchdowns — all by senior Darrin Hall — and the Panthers walked out of Scott Stadium with a 23-13 win Friday night.

The Cavaliers (6-3, 4-2 ACC) gave up 257 rushing yards on the night, breaking a streak of consecutive games holding their opponent under 70 yards on the ground. It was Pitt’s fourth straight win over the ‘Hoos.

Hall was the difference, finishing with a game-high 229 yards on just 19 carries, plus the three scores. He averaged 12 yards a pop, about four times the desired yards-per-carry average the Wahoos said they like to hold the opposition to earlier this week.

Virginia couldn’t get much going in a driving rain on the game’s opening drive, despite holding onto the ball for nearly five minutes but netting just 10 yards thanks to a trio of uncharacteristic Cavalier penalties.

Pitt (5-4, 4-1) answered with a 41-yard Darrin Hall touchdown run, as Hall found an opening on the left edge and turned on the jets to the house to give the visitors a 6-0 lead.

Juan Thornhill appeared to block the PAT, but was called offsides and the retry was good to make it 7-0 with 6:09 left in the first quarter.

It took Perkins just one play to respond, pump faking and delivering a ball to Terrell Jana who trotted 42 yards into the end zone for his first career touchdown to tie it at 7-7 as the rain faded away.

On a 4th & 4 from the Pitt 34 on the first play of the second quarter, Evan Butts caught a pass for the first down but fumbled the ball away. Pitt’s ensuing possession was short-lived, however, as Charles Snowden chased down quarterback Kenny Pickett on 3rd & 10 to force the Panthers to kick it away.

When the ensuing drive stalled, Virginia’s Lester Coleman pinned Pitt at its own 1 with 5:30 to go, but Bryce Hall and Mandy Alonso pressured Pickett into an incompletion on 3rd down, and the Cavaliers took over with 1:15 remaining — which turned out to be plenty of time for Perkins and the ‘Hoos — from their own 43.

Perkins worked quickly but patiently, orchestrating a march down to Pitt’s 24 with :06 left. He found Jana for consecutive gains of 11 and 18 yards on the drive, calmly dancing away from pressure on the latter.

Pitt’s Patrick Jones II was called for a targeting penalty (and ejection), giving the Cavaliers 12 more yards, and Brian Delaney booted one through from 29 yards out to give Virginia a 10-7 halftime edge.

Virginia outgained the Panthers 193-121 in the first half, with 169 yards coming through the air. Jana caught three balls for 71 yards in the opening 30 minutes of play and was shut out for the remainder of the contest, but still led the ‘Hoos in receiving on the night.

Pitt got the ball to start the second half and it got loud when Snowden tripped up Pickett on another crucial 3rd-down stop. Two plays later, Perkins passed to Olamide Zaccheaus, who was wrapped up by a Pitt defender but appeared to never go down and raced to the end zone with nobody around. However, he was whistled down at the Virginia 37.

Perkins kept the drive alive with a scramble on 3rd & 5, taking a shot at the end of the play, but Virginia punted the ball away with 9:01 left in the third.

Pitt then melted nearly nine minutes off the clock to regain the lead. A controversial Elliott Brown personal foul penalty gave the Panthers a first down after Brown pulled Pickett out of bounds on a 3rd & long. Hall scored his second TD of the night to cap the 15-play, 84-yard drive that took 8:40 off the clock, and Virginia trailed by four, 14-10, to start the final quarter.

A Perkins pass to Kelly was reviewed and what was originally ruled a 1st-down gain was reversed to set up a 3rd & 4 from Pitt’s 36. Perkins found Zaccheaus on the next snap for 14 yards and a first down at the 22, which led to a 42-yard Delaney field goal to cut it to 14-13 with 9:51 remaining.

Darrin Hall then raced 75 yards for his third touchdown of the night on the next play from scrimmage, but a Pitt botched extra-point attempt kept it a seven-point game, 20-13, with 9:40 to play. Virginia went three-and-out, and the Panthers got it back at midfield with 7:32 left with a touchdown advantage.

A 53-yard Alex Kessman field goal just got over the crossbar to make it a 10-point game with just 4:25 showing on the clock. On Virginia’s following possession, Perkins was sacked for a 16-yard loss on a 3rd & 1 deep in Cavalier territory, and a heave downfield intended for Zaccheaus on the next snap was broken up with 2:49 to go and the Panthers took over from the UVa 30. The Panthers then melted the clock for the win.

Virginia mustered only 249 total yards on the night (205 passing, 44 rushing). Perkins was 17 for 24 for 205 yards and the TD toss. Jordan Ellis had 46 yards on 10 carries. Zaccheaus added 36 all-purpose yards.

The Cavaliers will host Liberty next Saturday at 3 p.m. for the final home game of 2018, before wrapping up the regular season at Georgia Tech and then Virginia Tech.