Sophomore helps Pitt stop its slide

PITTSBURGH 21, VA. TECH 16

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh held a team meeting before its game Thursday night against Virginia Tech to provide a reminder that all was not lost despite a threegame skid.

“We told each other we can’t go down 0-4, we can’t have this losing streak, we have to redeem ourselves in prime time,” wide receiver Tyler Boyd said. “That’s what we did.”

Chad Voytik’s arm — and more surprisingly his legs — led the way. The sophomore quarterback ran for a career-high 118 yards, threw a touchdown pass to Boyd and even caught his first pass since middle school as the Panthers held on for a 21-16 victory.

“We needed it bad,” Voytik said. “I got emotional after the game because I knew how big it was. Just how hard our guys have worked. The stage was big, and we came out and performed.”

James Conner ran for 85 yards and two scores for the Panthers (4-3, 2-1 ACC), who took control early and fended off a late rally by the Hokies.

Virginia Tech ( 4- 3, 1-2) trailed by 12 in the fourth quarter but had the ball and a chance to take the lead in the final minutes. Michael Brew- er’s fourth-down pass to Cam Phillips sailed high, and the Panthers ran out the clock.

“I thought that we came in here and made a lot of plays, but we sure missed a lot of plays,” Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer said. “We also had some opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on, and those come back to get you.”

Brewer shook off a slow start to finish with 265 yards passing and a 14-yard scoring strike to Phillips, but the Hokies remained winless in four visits to Heinz Field.

Forced to plumb the bottom of the depth chart at running back with Shai McKenzie, Marshawn Williams and Trey Edmunds all out with injuries, Virginia Tech could do little offensively. The Hokies ran for 26 yards, the longest run of the night Sam Rogers’ 9-yard burst.

“We have good backs, but give [Pitt] credit, they were tough,” Beamer said. “They crowded and blitzed us, and we needed to throw the ball a little bit better and connect on a couple more that we had an opportunity to. Then, it would have been a different game.”

Instead, it was an ugly one. The teams combined for five fumbles, 15 penalties and little rhythm in what likely amounted to an elimination game in the wide-open Coastal Division.