Football: In search of first win, Pitt prepares for Virginia Tech

Pitt and Virginia Tech maintained a fierce Big East rivalry on the football field until the…

After losing against Youngstown State and Cincinnati, the Pitt football team will hope to earn its first win against No. 13 Virginia Tech this Saturday at Heinz Field.

Bobby Mizia, Senior Staff Photographer

Pitt and Virginia Tech maintained a fierce Big East rivalry on the football field until the Hokies left the conference in 2004.

Next year, the two football programs will again compete in a shared conference, once Pitt’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference is finalized.

But for now, the Panthers (0-2, 0-1 Big East) and the Hokies (2-0, 1-0 ACC) will renew their rivalry with a nonconference matchup this Saturday at noon at Heinz Field.

After Pitt’s embarrassing 35-10 defeat at Cincinnati last week, new head coach Paul Chryst still searches for his first win as the leader of the University’s football program.

At his weekly press conference, Chryst admitted the season hasn’t yet gone as he would’ve liked, but he said he’s still excited for the matchup with the Hokies.

“What a great opportunity we have this week,” he said of facing Virginia Tech. “Our kids realize that, and I think they look forward to the challenge.”

Led by longtime head coach Frank Beamer, the No. 13 Hokies have started the season with two victories.

On Labor Day evening, Virginia Tech came from behind against Georgia Tech in the last seconds to force overtime, where the Hokies eventually prevailed, 20-17. And after that exciting win, Beamer’s squad easily handled FCS-school Austin Peay last weekend, 42-7, to remain undefeated.

Although Virginia Tech leads the all-time series against Pitt 7-4, the Panthers have won the last three contests between the programs, including a memorable 31-28 upset in 2003.

Because of that history, Beamer said his team will not take its opponent this week lightly.

“They have always had solid, good football players,” Beamer said of Pitt. “We have always had respect from them, and we sure do have respect for them now.”

But with how much the Panthers struggled in their opening two games, the Hokies enter Saturday’s showdown as heavy favorites.

If Pitt hopes to have any chance of pulling off the upset, the Panthers’ defense — which conceded a combined 66 points against Youngstown State and Cincinnati — must improve.

“It’s tough. We’ve got to learn from it,” senior safety Jarred Holley said after the Cincinnati game about the defense’s poor performance. “All of the guys are trying really hard — we just have to get things together.”

And against the Hokies, the task won’t be any easier with athletic, 6-foot-6, 260-pound quarterback Logan Thomas leading Virginia Tech’s explosive attack.

“I think he’s a very impressive quarterback,” Chryst said of Thomas. “There’s no way we can mimic [him in practice.] We don’t have a guy on our scout team that is that size and plays quarterback. We’ll do our best in preparing for it, but he certainly is a gifted and talented quarterback.”

Virginia Tech’s talented offense will challenge the Panthers defense, so Pitt’s offense must find a way to score points when it has the opportunity to do so.

Quarterback Tino Sunseri admitted that 2-for-4 in the red zone last week against the Bearcats just wasn’t good enough for Pitt.

“Whenever you drive down the field, you have to be able to cash in inside the 20-yard line,” the senior passer said.

Chryst believes that despite the early struggles, his team still has confidence that it can turn this season around, beginning this week.

“This group cares. You just focus on things you can control,” he said. “Right now, I don’t feel like it’s a team in fragile state of mind.”