Pitt smashes Virginia Tech
PITTSBURGH — Qadree Ollison looked at the line of scrimmage, looked at the Virginia Tech end zone 97 long yards away and turned to good friend and fellow Pittsburgh running back Darrin Hall.
“I asked him if he thought I could run that far and he was like,I` don't know,'” Ollison said with a laugh.
The answer unfolded over 17 seconds that began with textbook blocking at the snap, included a vicious stiff-arm at midfield and ended with Ollison flipping across the goal line to finish off the longest offensive play in the program's 114-year history to provide a giddy exclamation point as the Panthers took a massive step toward their first ACC Coastal Division title with a dominant 52-22 victory over the reeling Hokies on Saturday.
“It was perfect,” Ollison said after finishing with 235 yards and three touchdowns. “It parted like the Red Sea and as a running back it's my job to make a guy miss. It's my job to run a guy over, not let one guy tackle you and after (breaking free), I did.”
Yet it's what happened in the immediate aftermath that the Panthers believe speaks volumes about their team and the bond Ollison and Hall have formed over the last four years while taking turns atop the depth chart. Ollison's recordbreaking sprint broke the previous record of 92 yards set by Hall set last season against Duke. And Hall couldn't have been happier.
“I'm glad he got it,” said Hall after running for 186 yards and a touchdown of his own on Senior Day. “It's a blessing because he deserves it for everything he's done for this university.”
The Panthers (6-4, 5-1 ACC) rolled up a schoolrecord 654 total yards, 492 coming on the ground, the second-most ever given up by the Hokies (4-5, 3-3).
“Obviously, we had trouble and they ran the ball awfully well,” Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente said. “Kind of a weird deal we didn't play as well as we would've liked to.”
Ryan Willis threw for 231 yards and three touchdowns for the Hokies (4-5, 3-3), two of them to Eric Kumah, but Virginia Tech's defense offered little resistance. A season that began with such promise now finds the Hokies needing to win each of their final two games if they want to extend their bowl streak to 26 seasons.
Pitt's concerns are far different. The team that found itself floundering at 2-3 at the end of September after getting blown out by No. 12 UCF now needs to win just one of its final two games to earn a trip to the ACC title game on the first Saturday in December.
“I know everyone wanted to jump ship after that [UCF] game, but there was no doubt in my mind,” Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett said. “We showed it with our play and how confident we are in each other.” NC State falls: Everything seemed aligned against Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons had a quarterback making his first start, an injury-depleted defense facing an offense peppered with future NFL players, and trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter in a stadium where they almost never win.
Yet No. 14 NC State (6-3, 3-3) couldn't seal the victory, so Wake Forest snatched it away.
Jamie Newman threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jack Freudenthal with 30 seconds left to give Wake Forest a 27-23 upset win Thursday night.
“It's just about staying poised, honestly,” Newman said. “Staying poised and being smart, not letting the moment get too big for you.”
Making his first career start, Newman was 22 of 33 for 297 yards with three touchdown passes in the second half to help the Demon Deacons (5-5, 2-4) rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The 19 1⁄2-point underdogs earned their first road victory over a Top 25 team in a decade.
“This was going to be a game that we just have to grind, and grind, and grind, and somehow find a way to win,” coach Dave Clawson said. “And to our kids' credit, they did it.”