CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — It only took 16 seconds.
Just two plays into Pitt’s contest against Virginia on Saturday afternoon, the home crowd was silenced. A pair of pick-sixes to start the game let all in attendance at Scott Stadium know what was in store for the remaining 59 minutes and 44 seconds of action.
The Panthers (6-4, 3-3) had come to dominate, and dominate they did, defeating the Cavaliers (3-7, 1-6) by a final of 37-7 in ACC play.
M.J. Devonshire started Pitt’s afternoon of fun, intercepting a Brennan Armstrong pass on the game’s first play and returning it 29-yards for a touchdown. The redshirt junior became the first Panther to record multiple pick-sixes in the same season since Darrelle Revis did so in 2006 — and just one play later, his teammate accomplished the same feat.
On Armstrong’s second drop-back, the lefty quarterback once again connected with the wrong target, throwing a pass that was intercepted by Marquis Williams, who returned the blunder 39-yards for a score, bringing the game to an end hardly after it began.
After successfully avoiding a turnover on the game’s third drive, the Cavaliers punted the ball away to a Pitt offense that was equally successful early on. Touchdowns from Israel Abanikanda and Bub Means lifted the Panthers’ lead to 28-0 when the opening period came to an end, compelling a small group of Virginia faithful to make a premature exit from the beautiful fall game day atmosphere.
While the offense cooled off the following quarter, Pitt’s defense remained red-hot, tallying four sacks and allowing just 60 yards of total offense in the first half. Virginia’s offense failed to enter Panther territory until its final drive of the half, which ended in a missed field goal attempt from 43-yards out by Will Bettridge.
The game’s second half provided little excitement as far as scoring was concerned, with a trio of Ben Sauls field goals from 25, 27 and 39 yards accounting for the rest of Pitt’s points on the day. Virginia, meanwhile, made its way on the scoreboard thanks to an 8-yard touchdown catch by Malachi Fields in the third quarter.
Abanikanda led the way for the Panther offense once again, rushing for 121 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Kedon Slovis also had a solid showing Saturday afternoon, completing 14 of his 24 pass attempts for 208 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
Key stat: Last week against Syracuse, the Panthers deemed their six-sack-effort a “party in the backfield.” That party continued Saturday, as Pitt totaled a season-best eight sacks against Virginia.
Calijah Kancey led the way for the Panthers, coming up with three sacks. John Morgan also totaled a pair for Pitt in the victory. The high sack total resulted in the Cavaliers having minus-8 yards rushing in the contest.
