Virginia Tech kicker John Love missed a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation as the Hokies lost to Pitt 35-33 on Friday night.
Love, a fifth-year senior who was a career 42-for-44 from inside 40 yards before that kick, believed he made the kick from the right hash at first, but both officials under the uprights ruled it no good. The captain’s only career misses came in 2023 and 2024 (blocked).
View tweetIt was a highly debatable result that can be examined from multiple angles. Love and his teammates on the field appeared to think it was good. Those in the north end zone did as well. But the referees were immediately adamant it was no good.
View tweet“We had a chance, obviously, to win it at the end,” Tech head coach James Franklin said. “Everybody’s going to focus on the last play, and this isn’t coach-speak; we’re going to watch this tape and there’s going to be 20 plays that we could’ve made throughout the game to put us in a better position and not be in that situation at the end.”
It was a strange ending to a game that saw the Hokies (4-1, 1-1 ACC) lead by two scores, trail by two scores, turn the ball over four times, have more penalty yards (82) than rushing yards (65) and still have a chance to win as time expired.
The Panthers (5-0, 2-0) played nearly the entire second half without starting quarterback Mason Heintschel, too, who left the game early in the third quarter and did not return. But self-inflicted wounds set Tech back, and even when it had an opportunity to shut the door, it could not convert.
The Hokies started the game well, scoring in four plays off a screen that Que’Sean Brown took 38 yards to the house. Luke Reynolds’ 23-yard reception and Jeffrey Overton Jr.’s 14-yard run set things up.
After forcing a three-and-out, they moved down the field in six plays, which included a beautiful contested 43-yard catch down the home sideline from Brown. He had a 12-yarder on the next play, and after a Panthers’ roughing the passer penalty, they had first-and-goal from the 7-yard line. In all, Brown racked up seven catches for 147 yards.
Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer punched in the second score on third-and-goal from the 1, making it 14-0 with 10:12 in the first quarter.
Pitt eventually found its footing, though. It faced a third-and-7 on its fourth possession and had compiled just four total yards, but hit on passes for 12 and 30 yards before a 20-yard touchdown run from Ja’Kyrian Turner.
Tech had to settle for a 26-yard field goal from the Panthers’ 7-yard line in return. John Love capped off a 12-play possession that was aided by a pass interference penalty on fourth-and-3 to move the chains. Love’s seventh conversion of the year made it 17-7.
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Pitt responded with a 1-yard rushing touchdown from La’Vell Wright, a 75-yard drive aided by 42 yards of Hokies penalties — including two for 26 by nickelback Kenny Woseley on third-and-16.
Tech finished with eight penalties for 82 yards, including two offensive pass interference calls, one roughing the passer, one unnecessary roughness and one unsportsmanlike conduct flag.
“We’ve been talking about the penalties. Specifically, the pre-snap penalties and the post-whistle penalties,” Franklin said. “On the one drive, we had two penalties on the same guy. He had a facemask and then an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on their sideline, but yeah, not good enough. There’s no doubt about it. …
“Too many penalties, specifically at critical moments in the game where we let them off the hook.”
Tech zipped down on the field next, starting with a 51-yard connection from Grunkemeyer to Brown. Three plays later, the signal-caller found a wide-open Ayden Greene in the end zone for a 22-yard score.
It looked like the Hokies would run out the first half with a 24-14 lead, but Grunkemeyer’s first interception of the season — on a 50-50 ball caught by both wideout Davion Brown and cornerback Cameron Lindsey — set the Panthers up at the Tech 23.
Two plays later, a 22-yard pass from Heintschel to wide receiver Cataurus Hicks, featuring a ferocious stiff arm, pulled Pitt within 24-21 at intermission.
The Panthers pulled ahead when running back Damon Ferguson Jr. rumbled for a 15-yard touchdown to open the third quarter. Then Virginia Tech shot itself in the foot — an all-too-frequent occurrence in the second half.
Pitt defensive lineman Jaeden Moore registered a strip sack on third-and-17, which his teammate, Nick James, recovered at the Tech 28.
“They’re a really good defense, an experienced defense, an experienced defensive head coach, and they made some really good adjustments,” Franklin said. “But yeah, we knew it was going to be a battle. I talked to those guys at halftime, like, ‘This is what the game was going to be, we knew that it was going to be a fourth-quarter game,’ but I think if you look at us offensively, we did a ton of really good things; you can’t turn the ball over four times. That’s really the issue in the game.”
Yet, Heintschel (10-for-18, 113 yards, 1 TD) was hurt on the ensuing drive and did not return. Backup quarterback Holden Geriner, a fifth-year player, entered and could not convert a fourth-and-1 pass that wideout Bryce Yates dropped.
Still, an illegal use of hands penalty and a sack forced Tech to punt. Pitt opted for a long, 56-yard field goal when it got the ball back, but a low snap on the try led to a turnover on downs.
It seemed like the Hokies had some life, but miscommunication between Overton and Grunkemeyer led to a fumble, setting the Panthers up at the 41. Then some more miscommunication in the backend allowed Geriner to find an open Hicks for a 29-yard touchdown, putting Pitt up 35-24.
“Once he came into the game, we had to make some adjustments,” Franklin said of Geriner, who finished 8-for-12 for 78 yards and a score. “They were calling the game obviously different at that point. The first drive, obviously, was not our best with the backup quarterback there in the game, but after that, I thought we did a really good job of making them earn it. Our defense was put in a ton of tough spots, and they battled and did a really good job.
“Turned the ball over four times and only gave up 14 points off turnovers. That’s a pretty respectable performance.”
Tech was aggressive, but maybe too much when Grunkemeyer threw his second interception of the night. He underthrew a pass to the end zone, with the intended target of Marlion Jackson picked off by Shawn Lee Jr. at the 3-yard line.
“I think we moved the ball as well on them as probably anyone has at this point, but you can’t turn the ball over four times,” Franklin said. “Since the beginning of time, turnovers and explosive plays, and we’ve been flirting with this turnover thing all year long. We’ve been turning the ball over a few times, we haven’t been getting turnovers on defense, and because we didn’t get it fixed, it came back to bite us, and that’s my responsibility to get it fixed.”
Hokies linebacker Noah Chambers got in the backfield and brought down Ferguson for a safety, making it 35-26 in Pitt’s favor.
An explosive 62-yard kickoff return from Overton set up an easy two-play strike for Grunkemeyer to Davion Brown to pull Tech within 35-33 — nine points in 55 seconds.
The teams traded possessions before the Hokies got the ball last, and they worked their two-minute magic into Pitt territory at the 18 — a crucial fourth-down conversion to Reynolds, along with a 10-yard Overton run — but Love’s field goal at the end of regulation was no good.
Despite the loss, Grunkemeyer threw for 434 yards, the second-most in school history since 1987. Only Bryan Randall’s 504 against Syracuse in 2002 was more.
Tech outgained Pitt 499-295, too, and averaged 6.8 yards per play to the Panthers’ 4.8.
But the Hokies had just 65 rushing yards on 32 attempts (2.0 average). They lost 18 yards, which included two sacks. Overton had 46 yards on 17 touches (2.7 average) while Hawkins posted 32 yards on eight attempts (4.0).
After their touchdown to Greene in the second quarter, their next nine possessions ended like this: Interception, kneel (halftime), fumble, punt, fumble, interception, touchdown (Davion Brown), punt, missed field goal.
Tech heads across the country next week to Cal for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff (ESPN2 or ACC Network).
Box Score: Pitt 35, Virginia Tech 33
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