No. 25 Va. Tech knocks off Pitt

Jerod Evans shook off a right ankle injury to throw for a careerhigh 406 yards and two touchdowns and lead No. 25 Virginia Tech to a 39- 36 victory over host Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Joey Slye tied the school and Atlantic Coach Conference records by making six field goals to help the Hokies ( 6- 2, 4- 1) beat the Panthers ( 5- 3, 2- 2) on the road for the first time in 17 years.

Isaiah Ford’s 10 receptions included his school- record 23rd receiving touchdown.

Evans left briefly in the third quarter after getting his right leg rolled up on but returned to overwhelm one of the nation’s worst pass defenses. Bucky Hodges caught six passes for 145 yards and a touchdown and Cam Phillips added 109 yards receiving as Virginia Tech all but ended Pitt’s hopes of an ACC Coastal title.

James Conner ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns for the Panthers. Nate Peterman completed 13 of 22 passes for 267 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Penn State loses lawsuit

A jury in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, awarded a former Penn State assistant football coach $ 7.3 million in damages, finding the university defamed him after it became public that his testimony helped prosecutors charge Jerry Sandusky with child molestation.

Jurors deliberated for about four hours in Mike McQueary’s defamation and misrepresentation suit.

Judge Thomas Gavin still must decide McQueary’s whistleblower claim that he was treated unfairly as the school suspended him from coaching duties, placed him on paid administrative leave, barred him from team facilities and then did not renew his contract shortly after he testified at Sandusky’s 2012 trial.

McQueary remained stoic as the verdict was read, and he and his lawyers made no comment as they left the courthouse.

A Penn State spokesman said the university would not comment on the case and the jury’s decision until a final decision is rendered on all counts.

McQueary had been seeking more than $ 4 million in lost wages and other damages, saying he was defamed by a statement the school president released the day Sandusky was charged, retaliated against for helping with the Sandusky investigation and misled by school administrators.

“He should not have been the scapegoat,” lawyer Elliot Strokoff said, speaking to jurors.