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NCAAF PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA TECH NOTE: FINAL RE-SENT TO CORRECT YARDAGE ON SECOND VIRGINIA TECH FIELD GOAL AND ON FOURTH VIRGINIA TECH TOUCHDOWN.
Extended BoxNCAAF 1 2 3 4 F - - - - -- Pittsburgh 6 14 14 0 34 Virginia Tech (2) 7 13 7 10 37 FINAL
Virginia Tech-Suggs 2 run (Warley kick) Pittsburgh-Grim 47 pass from Turman (kick failed) Pittsburgh-Bryant 17 pass from Turman (Lotz kick) Virginia Tech-FG Warley 35 Virginia Tech-Suggs 2 run (Warley kick) Pittsburgh-Bryant 26 pass from Turman (Lotz kick) Virginia Tech-FG Warley 38 Virginia Tech-Ferguson 6 run (Warley kick) Pittsburgh-Barlow 2 run (Lotz kick) Pittsburgh-Bryant 29 pass from Turman (Lotz kick) Virginia Tech-Suggs 3 run (Warley kick) Virginia Tech-FG Warley 27
Pittsburgh Virginia Tech First downs 17 30 Rushed-yards 29-24 61-283 Passing yards 311 194 Sacked-yards lost 7-29 2-11 Return yards 0 26 Passes 17-26-1 15-28-1 Punts 6-33.3 3-40.0 Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1 Penalties-yards 4-27 3-33 Time of possession 23:08 36:52
Individual Statistics RUSHING: Pittsburgh-Barlow 15-34, Polite 2-5, Goings 1-4, Team 1-0, Turman 10-minus 19. Virginia Tech-Suggs 28-164, Kendrick 12-39, Vick 10-34, Ferguson 6-32, Meyer 4-14, Hawkins 1-0.
PASSING: Pittsburgh-Turman 17-26-1-311. Virginia Tech-Vick 8-15-1-80, Meyer 7-13-0-114.
RECEIVING: Pittsburgh-Bryant 9-127, Grim 3-106, English 3-69, Polite 2-9. Virginia Tech-Johnson 7-79, E Wilford 2-25, Suggs 2-21, Wynn 1-28, Hawkins 1-18, Moody 1-12, Kendrick 1-11.
Att: 56,272
Game StoryBLACKSBURG, Virginia (Ticker) -- Michael Vick is not the only Virginia Tech quarterback that can lead a dramatic game-winning drive.
Playing in place of arguably college football's best player, Dave Meyer directed a 13-play march in the waning minutes and Carter Warley booted a 27-yard field goal with 16 seconds left as the second-ranked Hokies defeated Big East Conference rival Pittsburgh, 37-34.
Vick, who guided Virginia Tech to the national title game as a freshman last season, watched the second half of this contest from the sideline with of a sprained right ankle. So it was up to Meyer, a senior from New Jersey, to keep alive the Hokies' championship dreams.
"Dave Meyer has been in this program a long time, and to have him step up and play well in a crucial moment ... I'm happy for him and happy for us."
Relying on running back Lee Suggs for most of his time under center, Meyer was sharp on Tech's final drive, which covered 74 yards in 4:36. He hit freshman Ronald Moody for a key first down at the Pittsburgh 48-yard line, moments after an interference call on Panthers cornerback Shawntae Spencer.
Warley, another freshman, culminated the drive by calmly splitting the uprights, much like Shayne Graham did on November 6, 1999, when his 44-yarder beat West Virginia, 22-20, on the final play. In that contest, is was Vick who brilliantly moved the team downfield in the final minute.
"I've been involved in a lot of games, but I don't think I've every been more proud to win a football game that what I am tonight," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. I'm just really proud."
Meyer completed 7-of-13 passes for 114 yards in relief of Vick, who was 8-of-15 for 80 yards with an interception and added 34 yards on 20 carries while being sacked twice.
"We will keep (Vick) in the boot and apply a TENS unit (a small electrical stimulation device) overnight and keep him on crutches," said Virginia Trech athletic training director Mike Goforth. "We will re-evaluate him again tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. At this point, I would list him as day-to-day."
With the win, Virginia Tech (8-0, 6-0 Big East) sets up a huge matchup next weekend at No. 5 Miami. The Panthers (5-2, 2-2), whose only other loss came in double overtime at Syracuse, fell to 1-7 all-time against the Hokies.
"Our players played extremely hard," said Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris. "I felt we left it on the field and had nothing else to give. That's all I can ask of our football players. We played the second or third-ranked football team toe-to-toe, blow-for-blow."
With Vick out of the game, it appeared the Panthers might steal the victory after they scored a pair of touchdowns in a 25-second span at the end of the third quarter.
First, Kevan Barlow took a pitch and barreled through a tackle for a two-yard TD run that tied it, 27-27. After a botched reverse on the ensuing kickoff forced the Hokies to start deep in their territory, a fumbled snap was recovered by the Panthers at the Virginia Tech 29.
John Turman and Antonio Bryant quickly hooked up on their third touchdown of the game as Bryant making an oustanding catch in the right corner of the end zone with four seconds to play in the period.
The Hokies answered right back with Suggs' third touchdown of the game, this one from three yards out, capping an eight-play, 64-yard drive with a little over 12 minutes left. Suggs rushed for 164 yards on 28 carries as Virginia Tech accumulated 283 yards and four scores on the ground.
Pittsburgh ran just seven plays on its final two possession and was unable to rally from what was a fourth deficit of the game.
Suggs was the best player on the field whether Vick was playing or not. The 6-foot sophomore opened the scoring with a two-yard TD run and added a similar score to give Tech a 17-13 lead midway through the second quarter.
Pittsburgh's answer to Suggs was Bryant, who totaled 127 yards on nine receptions. He also caught scores of 17 and 26 yards from Turman, who was 17-of-26 for 311 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
"He (Bryant) is a tremendous competitor," Harris said. "Everyone to a player respects him because of the effort that he gives. He's still a sophomore and we're working hard to up his game."
Emmett Johnson had seven receptions for 89 yards for Tech.
"I want to congratulate Pittsburgh," said Beamer. "They are a class outfit that is getting better every game. As I said earlier in the week, that just whos you about the Big East, this is just getting tougher."
 © Copyright 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
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