ATLANTA – First-year Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins was quite relieved after his team stunned Miami (Fla.) two weeks ago for his first Atlantic Coast Conference win, but there were no smiles in Pittsburgh after the Panthers blew a golden opportunity to take over first place in the Coastal division last week when the Hurricanes shut them down. The Panthers attempt to rebound Saturday when they visit the Yellow Jackets.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Pittsburgh - 7.5.
Recommended Videos
Jordan Mason capped a 141-yard rushing day with a 1-yard touchdown dive in overtime and Tariq Carpenter made the lead stand up with a fourth-down tackle that sealed Georgia Tech’s 28-21 win over Miami (Fla.) on Oct. 19. Georgia Tech scored on a fumble recovery and a fake punt in the first half, then largely turned the game over to Mason, who ran for 91 yards after halftime. "It was a complete offense, defense, special teams victory," Collins said after the game. "I’ve told everyone who would listen that these guys are getting better every single week. That group that’s in that white and gold today is a good football team, and we will continue to get better. They work hard, they have the right attitude, they have the right mindset." Pitt remained one-half game behind both Virginia and North Carolina (3-2) after settling for four field goals by Alex Kessman in a 16-12 home loss to the Hurricanes last weekend - the sixth consecutive game the Panthers have played that has been decided by one score.
ABOUT PITTSBURGH (5-3, 2-2 ACC)
Kenny Pickett completed 18-of-32 passes for a season-low 146 yards and a career-high tying two interceptions in the rain while watching counterpart Darren Williams throw a 32-yard TD pass to K.J. Osborn with 58 seconds left to wrap it up. The Pitt defense, which ranks among the nation’s top 25 units in no fewer than seven defensive categories, was stellar once again holding the Hurricanes to 208 yards. Kessman became the first Pitt kicker to make four field goals in a game since Kevin Harper at Notre Dame on Nov. 3, 2012, and his 54-yarder marked his seventh career field goal of more than 50 yards, extending his own school record.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (2-5, 1-3)
Mason has recorded back-to-back 100-yard rushing games (106 against Duke) after not surpassing the 100-yard mark in the first 18 games of his career. The Yellow Jackets season-high point total against Miami pushed their scoring average to 18.1 - 119th among 130 FBS schools - and they average a mere 315 yards per game - good for 118th in FBS. Freshman signal-caller James Graham, who took over the starting job four weeks ago, completed 9-of-18 passes for 97 yards and a TD but is completing only 46 percent of his passes.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Since Pitt's inaugural ACC season in 2013, the Panthers and Yellow Jackets have split six conference meetings.
2. The Panthers are surrendering 291 yards per game - 14th in FBS - and lead with 38 sacks and 4.75 per game. DE Patrick Jones II and DT Jaylen Twyman lead Pitt with seven sacks each.
3. Georgia Tech P Pressley Harvin was selected co-ACC Conference Specialist of the Week after throwing a 41-yard touchdown on a fake punt and averaged 45.5 yards on six punts, including a season-long 57-yarder.
PREDICTION: Pittsburgh 24, Georgia Tech 7