Pittsburgh 35-33 Virginia Tech (Oct 2, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Pittsburgh · Virginia Tech

Pittsburgh5-035

Virginia Tech4-133Final

Fri, Oct 2 · Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Va. · Crowd 65,632

Pittsburgh beat Virginia Tech 35-33 after its win chance fell to 7%.

Winners have been down to 7% or less in about 1 of every 17 games since 2018.

We had Virginia Tech favored. Pittsburgh won.

Next: Pittsburgh lost to North Carolina 21-17, Sat Oct 10

Next: Virginia Tech lost to California 25-20, Sat Oct 10

Top comment in the game thread

No dog in the fight but that kick looked good from the underneath view.

Q4 0:04 · r/CFB game thread · Fri, Oct 2

How it swung

The turning point: Love 36-yd field goal no good (Q4, 0:02). Pittsburgh went from 53% to 100% to win. Fans right then: “No dog in the fight but that kick looked good from the underneath view.” r/CFB game thread

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Pittsburgh a 49% chance, and the closing betting line (Pittsburgh was a 1.5-point underdog) put it at 45%.

21 unanswered

Pittsburgh · Q3 10:13Safety

Virginia Tech · Q4 11:02

FinalPittsburgh 35-33 Virginia TechPittsburgh wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The five plays that swung it

1Q3 1:264th and 7Pittsburgh run for a 3-yd loss, turnover on downsPittsburgh 67% → 46% (−21)
2Q3 0:45FumbleOverton run for a 9-yd loss, fumblesPittsburgh 42% → 75% (+33)
3Q4 5:3215-yd puntPittsburgh 51% → 72% (+21)
4Q4 1:104th and 5Grunkemeyer 23-yd pass to ReynoldsPittsburgh 63% → 42% (−21)
5Q4 0:02Love 36-yd field goal no goodPittsburgh 53% → 100% (+47)

The five plays that swung it

1Q3 1:264th and 7Pittsburgh run for a 3-yd loss, turnover on downsVirginia Tech 33% → 54% (+21)
2Q3 0:45FumbleOverton run for a 9-yd loss, fumblesVirginia Tech 58% → 25% (−33)
3Q4 5:3215-yd puntVirginia Tech 49% → 28% (−21)
4Q4 1:104th and 5Grunkemeyer 23-yd pass to ReynoldsVirginia Tech 37% → 58% (+21)
5Q4 0:02Love 36-yd field goal no goodVirginia Tech 47% → 0% (−47)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q1 8:52A punt returner had his helmet ripped off.Good on the Pitt player for stopping when he saw his helmet was off.r/CFB game thread
Q4 13:55Geriner throws deep touchdown to Hicks as Pitt takes 35-24 leadBlue Hicks? I just thought they called that Mainer/CFB game thread
Q4 11:49Grunkemeyer throws interception, then Hawkins runs into end zone for safety4D chess from Grunkemeyer ???r/CFB game threadFranklin with the sneaky 5D chest move Throwing a pic to back them up on the end zoner/CFB game thread
Q4 1:26Grunkemeyer completes a 4th down pass to Reynolds as fans criticize Franklin's timeoutLuke Reynolds legitimately one of the most valuable players to their own team in the entire nation.r/CFB game threadJames Franklin bailed out. That was horrific clock managementr/CFB game thread
Q4 0:04Fans argue Virginia Tech's missed field goal looked good and should have been reviewedQuoted at the top of the page.Wait are we serious??? That angle from underneath the goalposts it looked inr/CFB game thread

Pittsburgh’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Virginia Tech -1.5), at 32% for Pittsburgh (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Virginia Tech or Pittsburgh flair (2,598 and 1,056); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Pittsburgh’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Pittsburgh scored on 5 of its 14 drives; Virginia Tech on 5 of its 15.

Pittsburgh’s drives are teal, Virginia Tech’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Virginia Tech’s side

Virginia Tech’s best moment: Pittsburgh run for a 3-yd loss, turnover on downs (Q3 1:26). It lifted Virginia Tech’s win chance by 21 points.

How Virginia Tech fans took it: “Not even a review… ACC should be embarrassed” r/CFB game thread

“No review bc espn wanted to move onto Idaho 🤣”

A Pittsburgh fan

When fans got loud

Busy

The final stretch is when fans got loud.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was busy; the crowd was loud.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Pittsburgh fans

mason“I’m so mad Mason got hurt. This game is so over, but man we had this without the injury.”

shotgun“Fellas, you always run a shotgun play with your backup QB on 4th and 1 at the opponents 20 while up 4.”

backup“Fellas, you always run a shotgun play with your backup QB on 4th and 1 at the opponents 20 while up 4.”

blue“such a dissapointing season for blue after all the hype from the transfer”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: refs, ball, now, back.

The winner fell to 7%.

What it cost

Pittsburgh’s chance to make the playoff rose from 6% to 10%.

Make the playoff

Pittsburgh · won6% → ▲10%

Virginia Tech · lost7% → ▼3%

Win the conference

Pittsburgh · won5% → ▲8%

Virginia Tech · lost6% → ▼3%

Before the game (September 30, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Pittsburgh 35, Virginia Tech 33

Pittsburgh covered +1.5 by 3.5. The total, 68, went over 53.5.

Team totals	Pittsburgh	Virginia Tech
Total yards	295	499
Passing	18 of 30, 191 yds	30 of 41, 434 yds
Rushing	31 for 104 yds	32 for 65 yds
First downs	18	21
Third down	4 of 13	6 of 16
Fourth down	1 of 3	1 of 1
Turnovers	0	4
Penalties	7 for 58 yds	8 for 82 yds
Time of possession	28:38	31:22

Pittsburgh leaders

Passing Mason Heintschel 10 of 18, 113 yds, 1 TD
Rushing Ja'Kyrian Turner 14 for 65 yds, 1 TD; Damon Ferguson Jr. 6 for 31 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Cataurus Hicks 3 for 63 yds, 2 TD; Bryce Yates 2 for 47 yds

Virginia Tech leaders

Passing Ethan Grunkemeyer 30 of 41, 434 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Jeffrey Overton Jr. 17 for 46 yds; Marcellous Hawkins 8 for 32 yds
Receiving Que'Sean Brown 7 for 147 yds, 1 TD; Luke Reynolds 7 for 93 yds

No rain through the game

70° at kickoff · 0.01 in of rain by radar over the stadium

The usual here around this date is 64°, with about 7 in 10 games between 53° and 73°.

October game-day temperatures at Lane Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Fourth quarter, 0:02 left10:44 p.m.

Pittsburgh 35, Virginia Tech 33 · Virginia Tech 0% to win

no rain · 68°

Love 36-yd field goal no good

Measured at Virginia Tech Airport, 1.0 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last 4 games

Pittsburgh · 4-0

Rated 47th in our preseason ratings, 42nd now.

4 straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.

W 59-0 vs Bucknell #247 of 668

won by 59 as a 54.5-point favorite

W 27-13 vs Syracuse #125 of 668

won by 14 as a 10.5-point favorite

W 12-7 vs UCF #93 of 668

won by 5 as a 7.5-point favorite

W 59-14 vs Miami (OH) #81 of 668

won by 45 as a 16.5-point favorite

Last 4 games

Virginia Tech · 4-0

Rated 51st in our preseason ratings, 45th now.

4 straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.

W 21-14 @ Boston College #138 of 668

won by 7 as a 14.5-point favorite

W 35-26 @ Maryland #61 of 668

won by 9 as a 2.5-point favorite

W 44-21 vs Old Dominion #68 of 668

won by 23 as a 17.5-point favorite

W 73-3 vs VMI #266 of 668

won by 70 as a 54.5-point favorite

Week by week

Virginia Tech

Wk 1Wvs VMI73-3
Wk 2Wvs Old Dominion44-21
Wk 3Wat Maryland35-26
Wk 4Wat Boston College21-14

Pittsburgh

Wk 1Wvs Miami (OH)59-14
Wk 2Wvs UCF12-7
Wk 3Wvs Syracuse27-13
Wk 4Wvs Bucknell59-0

Power rating by week

Pittsburgh is rated 0.1 points ahead as of week 4. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Virginia Tech’s explosive plays against Pittsburgh, 69 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Virginia Tech’s explosive plays against Pittsburgh’s defense
Virginia Tech offense, 74th percentile · Pittsburgh defense, 5th
Virginia Tech’s rushing EPA against Pittsburgh’s defense
Virginia Tech offense, 42nd percentile · Pittsburgh defense, 100th
Virginia Tech’s success rate against Pittsburgh’s defense
Virginia Tech offense, 71st percentile · Pittsburgh defense, 98th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

PittsburghVirginia Tech

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Virginia Tech leads the series 12-11

23 meetings since 1993 · Virginia Tech won the last meeting

2023Virginia Tech 38-21
2022Pittsburgh 45-29
2021Pittsburgh 28-7
2020Pittsburgh 47-14
2019Virginia Tech 28-0

Each line is Virginia Tech’s chance to win through that meeting. Virginia Tech is 0-2 in the meetings since 2018 that were still close in the fourth quarter.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Virginia Tech fans are feeling it about like the typical fanbase this week (53rd among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.

Virginia Tech favored by 1.5 · Total 53.5

How games like this usually go

Virginia Tech by 1.5, on the usual path until 0:02 left in the fourth

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 252 games since 2025 with a favorite of under 3.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 4 points toward Pittsburgh.

The total fell 3 points.

The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Virginia Tech is worth +2.5 points (±3.6) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom third of FBS, 22nd percentile.

50% at home, 38% on the road against FBS opponents (24-24 home, 17-28 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.3 at home vs. away over 100 games — inside the ±6.4 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 224 miles to get here.

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

Virginia Tech5th1-0
Pittsburgh4th1-0

Full ACC standings

Pittsburgh beats Virginia Tech 35-33