Field Level Media
Nov 2, 2019
Kenny Pickett passed for 204 yards and a touchdown and Pittsburgh survived three turnovers and a blocked punt to defeat Georgia Tech 20-10 on Saturday in Atlantic Coast Conference action in Atlanta.
The turning point came late in the third quarter when Yellow Jackets quarterback Lucas Johnson had the ball knocked loose at the 1 while driving in for the tying score. It was recovered by Pitt's Cam Bright, who returned it 79 yards. That led to a 49-yard field goal from Alex Kessman that gave the Panthers a 20-10 lead with 14:54 left.
Pickett completed 25 of 34 passes, connecting 11 times with wideout Maurice Ffrench for 71 yards. Ffrench has 75 catches and moved into a tie for fifth place on the school's single-season list. Pitt (6-3, 3-2 ACC) also got 75 rushing yards from A.J. Davis.
Georgia Tech (2-6, 1-4) was led by tailback Jordan Mason with 56 yards rushing and receiver Ahmarean Brown, who caught four passes for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Pitt scored first on a 32-yard field goal from Kessman on its first possession.
After an interception by Georgia Tech's Juanyeh Thomas, Pitt forced a three-and-out and scored on the first play after getting the ball back. Vincent Davis broke through the line and ran untouched for a 61-yard score to put Pitt ahead 10-0.
The Yellow Jackets got another interception when Pickett's pass went off the hands of tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart and was snagged by Georgia Tech's Tariq Carpenter. But the Panthers forced a field goal attempt and Brenton King was wide right from 34 yards.
Georgia Tech forced another turnover on Pitt's first possession after the kickoff when David Curry stripped receiver Ffrench and the Yellow Jackets recovered. Georgia Tech struck for a score on the next play when Graham hit Brown for a 51-yard touchdown pass, cutting Pitt's lead to 10-7.
Pitt answered with an eight-play, 65-yard drive that was capped with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Pickett to Shocky Jacques-Louis. That gave Pitt a 17-7 lead that stood until halftime.
Georgia Tech's Jerry Howard blocked a punt to start the third quarter and the Yellow Jackets got a 30-yard field goal from King to make it 17-10 at 9:46.
--Field Level Media