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NCAAF VIRGINIA TECH AT PITTSBURGH NOTE: FINAL RE-SENT TO CORRECT THE TIME OF THE FIFTH VIRGINIA TECH SCORING PLAY AND THE TIME OF THE PITTSBURGH FIELD GOAL.
Extended BoxNCAAF 1 2 3 4 F - - - - -- Virginia Tech (3) 10 17 0 3 30 Pittsburgh 0 7 7 3 17 FINAL
Virginia Tech-Vick 46 run (Graham kick) Virginia Tech-FG Graham 46 Pittsburgh-Goings 1 run (Lotz kick) Virginia Tech-And Davis 37 pass from Vick (Graham kick) Virginia Tech-Stith 9 run (Graham kick) Virginia Tech-FG Graham 32 Pittsburgh-Bryant 16 pass from D Priestley (Lotz kick) Pittsburgh-FG Lotz 23 Virginia Tech-FG Graham 52
Virginia Tech Pittsburgh First downs 21 25 Rushed-yards 46-295 29-M12 Passing yards 170 427 Sacked-yards lost 2-12 9-60 Return yards 3 0 Passes 10-17-0 29-51-0 Punts 4-41.5 6-33.7 Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-0 Penalties-yards 7-53 6-55 Time of possession 28:47 31:13
Individual Statistics RUSHING: Virginia Tech-Kendrick 16-162, Stith 14-65, Vick 13-65, C Hawkins 1-3, Ferguson 2-0. Pittsburgh-Goings 13-31, Feola 3-17, Cox 2-minus 1, Turman 1-minus 6, D Priestley 10-minus 53.
PASSING: Virginia Tech-Vick 10-17-0-170. Pittsburgh-D Priestley 28-46-0-407, Turman 1-5-0-20.
RECEIVING: Virginia Tech-And Davis 5-93, Hall 2-23, Wynn 1-35, Slowikowski 1-14, Parham 1-5. Pittsburgh-Bryant 13-215, Grim 12-188, Mcmullen 2-12, Goings 2-12.
Att: 42,678
Game StoryPITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- David Priestley played the game of his young career, yet it was not enough to derail steamrolling Virginia Tech.
Priestley burned the nation's top defense for 406 passing yards and one touchdown but the third-ranked and unbeaten Hokies received two scoring runs from Big East Conference-leading rusher Shyrone Stith in a 30-17 victory over the Panthers.
A 6-4, 200-pound sophomore, Priestley was under pressure all night -- he was sacked eight times -- but was able to escape trouble several times and hit Latef Grim and Antonio Bryant for big plays.
"I think our lineman did a really good job," said Priestley. "Part of being a quarterback is standing there and getting the ball our of your hand. I probably could have thrown it away a few more times, but you can always second-guess yourself."
The Panthers (5-3, 2-3 Big East) trailed 27-7 at halftime but outplayed Virginia Tech (7-0, 3-0) in the third quarter. In the third, Priestley, who completed 28-of-46 passes overall, threw for 202 yards and hit Bryant for a 16-yard score that brought them within 13 points with 12:02 left in the period.
Nick Lotz booted a 23-yard field goal in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, but 10 points was as close as the Panthers came. The Hokies defense clamped down and finally knocked Priestley from the game with 3 1/2 minutes to play. John Turman came on but went down for Virginia Tech's ninth sack of the game.
"We could have blocked the guys a little better, but then again you can only ask so much of our lineman," added Priestley. "I don't know how many sacks I ended up with but I don't think there was enough to make a difference."
Shayne Graham's 52-yard field goal with 11:09 to play provided the final margin.
"I think we played a team that was hot throwing the ball," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. "We had a great effort by our team and there are some plays we can learn from to become a better football team."
The 13-point margin of victory was actually the Hokies' smallest of the season but it kept them on track for a perfect season, with only games with West Virginia, Miami, Temple and Boston College remaining on the schedule.
"We have a lot of respect for Pitt," said Hokies All-America defensive end Corey Moore. "They should have beaten Penn State. They should have beaten Syracuse, too. We knew coming in here that it would be a battle."
It was the second straight game in which Pittsburgh's top two wideouts both reached the 100-yard receiving plateau. Bryant, a freshman, caught 13 passes for 215 yards, while Grim hauled in 12 for 188.
"Every game we are getting more comfortable with each other," said Grim. "You want the quarterback to have the confidence to throw the ball earlier than he was supposed to and know that there will be someone there to step up to it."
Pittsburgh played well defensively but had trouble controlling three players, Stith, fellow running back Andre Kendrick and freshman quarterback Michael Vick. Vick opened the scoring just over four minutes into the contest by changing directions on the option and racing 46 yards for a touchdown.
Graham's 46-yard field goal with 1:33 gave the Hokies a 10-0 lead and it appeared they would roll, but Pittsburgh mounted a seven-play, 72-yard drive that culminated with Nick Goings' one-yard touchdown run 51 seconds into the second quarter.
Goings carried 13 times for 31 yards for Pittsburgh, which was outgained, 465-415. The Panthers had minus-12 yard rushing, mainly due to the 60 yards lost on sacks.
"We battled as much as we could battle," Panthers coach Walt Harris said. "It is very important to run on offense, which we weren't able to do, and that got us into a throwing game, which makes it harder on the lineman."
The Hokies needed only 3:16 to regain the momentum as Vick hit Andre Davis for a 37-yard scoring strike. Davis also helped set up Vick's TD run in the first half by blocking a punt to give Virginia Tech possession inside Pittsburgh territory.
Vick completed 10-of-17 passes for 170 yards without being intercepted and carried 13 times for 65 yards. Davis hauled in five passes for 93 yards.
"We needed to play a team like this," said Vick. "We can't keeping blowing out our opponents. We needed this game to show our team's character."
Stith's nine-yard scoring run with 3:40 remaining in the first half provided Virginia Tech with a 24-7 lead and Graham tacked on to the advantage by booting a 32-yard field goal with 37 seconds left in the first half.
Stith entered averaging 120 yards per game but was held to just 65 on 14 carries. Kendrick picked up the slack, totaling 162 yards on 16 attempts. Virginia Tech had runs of 46, 34, 59 and 20 yards in the first half.
"Kendrick made some nice cuts and some nince runs," said Beamer. "It was exactly what we needed."
Still, Harris was happy about the performance of his fast-improving team.
"We're getting better," he said. "Our guys did a hell of a job blocking against superior athletes. We tried to run it, but in the end we did what we could to stay in the ballgame and compete."
 © Copyright 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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