PITTSBURGH (AP) — Freshman running back Damon Ferguson Jr. ran for a season-high 185 yards and a touchdown and Pittsburgh breezed past Georgia Tech 34-11 on Saturday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Panthers (6-3, 3-3) reached bowl eligibility behind a bruising running game that racked up 281 yards against the Yellow Jackets’ injury-depleted defense and a relentless pass rush that collected five sacks and never let Georgia Tech quarterbacks Alberto Mendoza and Grady Adamson get comfortable.
Pitt outgained the Yellow Jackets 461-238 to win for the first time since losing starting quarterback Mason Heintschel for the season due to a knee injury in a victory over Virginia Tech to start October.
Holden Gernier passed for 180 yards and a touchdown for Pitt, numbers that would have been better if not for mistakes by some of his teammates.
Tight end Carson Kent fumbled out of the end zone while trying to go in for a score in the second quarter, and wide receiver Malik Knight was among several players who had issues with drops. Throw in an early touchdown run by Ferguson being wiped out by a penalty, and the Panthers let Georgia Tech hang around for a while despite doing basically nothing offensively.
Still, Gernier stuck with it, and his 30-yard scoring lob to Blue Hicks early in the fourth quarter boosted Pitt’s lead to 24 points and effectively ended any remote hope Georgia Tech (2-6, 1-4) might have had of pulling off a rally.
Georgia Tech’s Alberto Mendoza struggled in the first three quarters, completing 16-of-25 for just 81 yards and fumbling three times, one of which the Panthers recovered, before he was replaced by Grady Adamson in the fourth.
Adamson was able to make some plays with his legs, running for 63 yards and a touchdown but it wasn’t nearly enough to help the Yellow Jackets avoid their sixth loss in their last seven meetings with the Panthers.
A week after getting rolled in a road loss at No. 1 Miami, Pitt’s defense responded with its best performance of the season.
Up next
Georgia Tech: Hosts Louisville next Saturday.
Pitt: Hosts Florida State on November 13.