Pitt loses Heintschel to injury, but outlasts Virginia Tech - ESPN

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech's John Love missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired, and Pittsburgh completed a rally for a 35-33 victory over the Hokies on Friday.

As the Panthers improved to 5-0, Pittsburgh quarterback Holden Geriner came off the bench to throw a touchdown pass, and Ja'Kyrian Turner added a rushing touchdown for a team that is now 2-0 in the ACC, one of three unbeaten teams in the league.

Pittsburgh trailed 14-0 but scored 21 unanswered points at one point to come from behind and then held on, all despite losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to an injury on the fourth play of the second half.

The road victory certainly had Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi fired up. He's hoping it fuels some more votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for his unranked Panthers.

«Wow. We've got a hell of a football team,» Narduzzi said in his postgame, on-field interview on ESPN. «Now, any of those [Associated Press Top 25] voters out there, if they wake their ass up, they might figure that out.»

The win was the first of the year for Pitt away from Acrisure Stadium.

«Just finding a different way to win,» Narduzzi said. «We talk about respect. I hope the country will respect the Panthers now.… I tell our guys all the time that there's going to be ups and downs. Our guys rode the wave and never gave in. They never batted an eye. They believed until the end. Faith and belief, that's what this football team's got. They've got a lot of guts in that locker room.»

Following the win, Narduzzi wouldn't get into specifics on Heintschel's injury, though the quarterback was seen on crutches. Geriner said he would be ready to assume command of the Panthers' offense if Heintschel is out for an extended period. The fifth-year