The Good, the Bad and the Ugly From Virginia Tech's 35-33 Loss to Pitt

Virginia Tech outgained Pitt by 204 yards Friday night at Lane Stadium and lost anyway.

Oct 2, 2026; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies kicker John Love (17) reacts to missing a game winning filed goal during the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Hokies fell to the Panthers 35-33 when John Love's 36-yard field goal try as time expired was ruled no good, dropping them to 4-1 and 1-1 in the ACC. Head coach James Franklin didn't pin it on his kicker. By his count, about 20 other plays could've kept the game from ever reaching that point.

He's right.

The good: Grunkemeyer and the passing game

Pitt came to Blacksburg having allowed 34 points in four games. Virginia Tech scored 33.

Ethan Grunkemeyer went 30-of-41 for a career-high 434 yards and three touchdowns. Que'Sean Brown turned seven catches into 147 yards, including a 38-yard score on a screen four plays into the game. Tight end Luke Reynolds added seven for 93, and Ayden Greene had four for 88. By halftime, the Hokies had 318 yards to Pitt's 140.

The fight at the end counts here too. Down 35-24, sophomore linebacker Noah Chambers dropped Damon Ferguson Jr. in the end zone for a safety. Less than a minute of game clock later, freshman Davion "FatRat" Brown caught a 28-yarder for his first career touchdown.

Then came a 16-play, 62-yard drive that stayed alive on fourth-and-5 when Grunkemeyer hit Reynolds for 23.

That offense is real.

The bad: No run game, no takeaways

Jeffrey Overton Jr. ran for 209 yards at Boston College a week ago. Against Pitt, he got 46 on 17 carries. Virginia Tech finished with 65 rushing yards on 32 attempts, 2.0 per carry, after averaging 177.8 coming in.

Give Pitt credit. The Panthers were allowing 53.3 rushing yards per game, second-best in the ACC. But a one-dimensional offense put everything on Grunkemeyer's arm, and that cuts both ways.

The defense had its moments, with five three-and-outs and two fourth-down stops. What it didn't have was a takeaway. Or much pressure: one sack all night. Pitt lost quarterback Mason Heintschel to injury four plays into the second half, and backup Holden Geriner still went 8-of-12 for 78 yards and the touchdown that made it 35-24.

Add eight penalties for 82 yards, three of which handed Pitt first downs.

The ugly: Four turnovers, zero forced

Grunkemeyer hadn't thrown an interception in 136 attempts this season. He threw two on Friday and lost a fumble. Overton lost another. Pitt didn't turn it over once.

It came in a heap. Cameron Lindsey's interception set up a Cataurus Hicks touchdown with 31 seconds left in the half, and Tech's possessions from there went fumble, punt, fumble, interception. 

A 24-14 lead became a 35-24 hole. Pitt scored 14 points off the turnovers in a game decided by two.

And then the kick. Love, a fifth-year senior, hadn't missed a field goal all season. The broadcast never showed a conclusive angle, and Franklin said he couldn't tell from where he stood.

"I've got John's back, so do all of his teammates," Franklin said.

The Hokies were one kick from their first 5-0 start since 2005. Instead they head to Cal on Saturday, Oct. 10 with a loss they handed over four times before the ball ever left Love's foot.