With an ACC Coastal Division Championship to play for and chance to become bowl eligible, Pitt (6-4, 5-1 ACC) played their best all-around game on offense against Virginia Tech (4-5) on Saturday. Pitt used big plays on offense and a solid defensive to beat down Virginia Tech 51-22 at Heinz Field. With their fifth ACC win, the Panthers move one step closer to an ACC Coastal Divison Championship and an appearance in the ACC Championship Game.

Qadree Ollison had a career day for the Panthers as he rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. One of those carries included a 97-yarder for Ollison in the fourth quarter. Hall rushed seven times for 186 yards (26.6 yards per carry) and one touchdown. Pitt finished with 492 yards rushing on the ground and averaged 13.7 yards per carry.

Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett completed seven out of 11 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown. That may not seem like much, but he had a solid first half and was only asked to throw the football once in the second half. The biggest reason for that was Pitt continued to have the same success rushing the football that they had in the first half.

FIRST QUARTER

Pitt won the toss and decided to defer receiving the football until the second half. After allowing two first downs, Pitt forced Virginia Tech to punt on their first possession. Pitt would drive all the way down to the Virginia Tech 30-yard line before settling for a 38-yard field goal by Alex Kessman.

On Virginia Tech's next possession, the Hokies were able to gain one first down before being forced to punt again. Pitt's next possession would feature two big plays by their stud running back Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall. Ollison got loose on a 27-yard run to get Pitt to their 47-yard line. Two plays later, Hall would rip off a 53-yarder to Virginia Tech's eight-yard line. Ollison would finish the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to put Pitt up 10-0 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

Virginia Tech continued their third drive that started in the first quarter. It ended like the previous two where they were forced to punt. It didn't take long for Pitt to get on the scoreboard again as Kenny Pickett hit Maurice Ffrench on a fade route that turned into a 78-yard touchdown passing play to go up 17-0. Virginia Tech would recover a fumble by Pickett in their end zone to keep the Panthers from scoring again. Virginia Tech quarterback Eric Willis hit Eric Kumah on a 29-yard pass to get the Hokies on the scoreboard and cut Pitt's lead to 17-7.

Qadree Ollison would break off runs of 32 yards and 21 yards to get Pitt down to the Virginia Tech 22-yard line. Four plays later, Maurice Ffrench would take a handoff and go around the left-hand side of the line for a 12-yard touchdown run to put the Panthers up 24-7. The Panthers defense stepped up once again and forced Virginia Tech to go three-and-out on their next drive. With 1:38 left in the half, Pitt had no intentions of playing it safe going into halftime. Kenny Pickett hit Taysir Mack on a beautiful fade pass down the right sideline to get the Panthers to the Virginia Tech one-yard line. Pitt fullback George Aston got in on the scoring too with a one-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 31-7 lead going into halftime.

HALFTIME STATS

PITT

Qadree Ollison - 9 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown

Darrin Hall - 5 carries for 114 yards

Kenny Pickett - 7 out of 10 passes completed for 162 yards and one touchdown

Maurice Ffrench - 2 catches for 83 yards and one touchdown, 1 carry for 12 yards and one touchdown.

VIRGINIA TECH

Ryan Willis - 12 out of 19 passes completed for 133 yards and one touchdown

Steven Peoples - 7 carries for 38 yards

Eric Kumah - 3 catches for 64 yards and one touchdown

THIRD AND FOURTH QUARTERS

Virginia Tech showed some fight on their first drive after halftime. Virginia Tech wide receiver Eric Kumah was able to draw a pass interference call on Pitt defensive back Dane Jackson to get down to Pitt's 19-yard line. Seven plays later, Ryan Willis found Kumah in the back of the end zone from five-yards-out for a touchdown. That same pair would connect for a successful two-point conversion and cut the Pitt's lead to 31-15 with 5:00 left in the third quarter.

If Virginia Tech thought they had any chance of coming back, Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison destroyed that thought on Pitt's next two possessions. Hall would score his first rushing touchdown of the game on a 73-yard sprint through the Virginia Tech defense to give Pitt a 38-15 lead with 4:04 left in the third quarter. Pitt's next possession would come in the fourth quarter and Ollison would cap his second touchdown of the game, a 31-yarder to give Pitt a 45-22 lead with 8:48 to go in the game. Ollison would put the extra icing on the cake with a 97-yard touchdown run to give Pitt a 52-22 with 4:43 left in the game.

FINAL STATS

PITT

Qadree Ollison - 16 carries for 244 yards and three touchdowns

Darrin Hall - 7 carries for 189 yards and one touchdown

Kenny Pickett - 7 out of 11 passes completed for 162 yards and one touchdown

Maurice Ffrench - 2 catches for 83 yards and one touchdown, 1 carry for 12 yards and one touchdown.

Taysir Mack - 3 catches for 78 yards

VIRGINIA TECH

Ryan Willis - 22 out of 34 passes completed for 231 yards and three touchdowns

Steven Peoples - 10 carries for 49 yards

Eric Kumah - 6 catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns