Our side
MoneylinePITT to win
ours 33%
Projected score
29–25
PITT – VT
2026-10-02 · 7:00 PM
Lane Stadium · Blacksburg, VA
ACC game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Virginia Tech lead
12–11
· 23 meetings since 1993
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
even
30 ranks apart
Pittsburgh Panthers #148 rush offense
Virginia Tech Hokies #178 run defense
Pass game
edge Pittsburgh Panthers
176 ranks
Pittsburgh Panthers #70 pass offense
Virginia Tech Hokies #246 pass defense
Run game
edge Pittsburgh Panthers
47 ranks
Virginia Tech Hokies #59 rush offense
Pittsburgh Panthers #12 run defense
Pass game
edge Pittsburgh Panthers
104 ranks
Virginia Tech Hokies #205 pass offense
Pittsburgh Panthers #101 pass defense
Pittsburgh Panthers
Balanced · 47% run
Ball-control
Virginia Tech Hokies
Run-heavy · 62% run
Ball-control
Dual-threat QB · 54 rush ypg
Pat Narduzzi · 80-61
Philip Montgomery · 46-59 · offense-minded
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Pittsburgh Panthers
QB
Mason Heintschel
665 pass yds · 7 TD · 0 INT
#23 QB
DL
Isaiah Neal
4 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#160 DL
WR
Cataurus Hicks
8 rec · 178 yds · 1 TD
#117 WR
RB
Damon Ferguson Jr.
81 rush yds · 1 TD · 6 rec
#94 RB
Virginia Tech Hokies
TE
Luke Reynolds
13 rec · 158 yds · 3 TD
#2 TE
K
John Love
4 FG · 15 XP · 27 pts
#5 K
DL
Mylachi Williams
7 tkl · 3.0 sacks · 6.0 TFL
#39 DL
DL
Cortez Harris
7 tkl · 3.0 sacks · 3.5 TFL
#71 DL
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Pittsburgh offense vs Virginia Tech defense+10.0 pts
Virginia Tech offense vs Pittsburgh defense+1.1 pts
Altitude · context only405 m higher than the visitor's home elevation
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.
Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest
were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them.
Adding them again would double-count.