PITTSBURGH _ On a night when Pitt running back James Conner rumbled for three touchdowns and 300-pound left tackle Brian O'Neil scored one, the bulk of the legwork Thursday was done by a placekicker.
Joey Slye, the Virginia Tech kicker, tied an Atlantic Coast Conference record with six field goals, and the 25th-ranked Hokies survived a seesaw affair at Heinz Field to escape with a 39-36 victory.
For most of the night, Pitt's defense bent but did not break, yet it softened often enough that Slye was given six short field-goal tries. He converted them all, from 31, 21, 22, 26, 37 and 22 yards. Quarterback Jerod Evans picked apart the Pitt secondary for 406 yards and two touchdowns, and the Hokies had three 100-yard receivers in a game for the first time in program history.
Virginia Tech collected 553 total yards to Pitt's 458, and 29 first downs to the Panthers' 17.
Down 10 with 3:58 remaining, the Panthers struck back with a swift touchdown drive, quarterback Nate Peterman passing to receiver Jester Weah. The Hokies eked out a crucial first down on their final drive, however, and ran out the clock to improve to 6-2 on the season, 4-1 in the ACC.
For Pitt (5-3, 2-2 ACC) and its ruffled defensive corps, the road gets no easier from here. The Panthers' next two games both are away from Heinz Field, against Miami and No. 3 Clemson.
Peterman was 13-for-22 passing for 267 yards, a touchdown and an interception. His first-quarter pick was his first thrown since Sept. 17 against Oklahoma State.
Conner carried the ball 19 times for 141 yards. It was his first three-touchdown game since he rushed for four scores Nov. 5, 2014, against North Carolina. Held to less than 100 yards in each of the previous four games, Conner plowed through Hokies defenders and refused to relent.
But the first quarter was halfway gone before Peterman, Conner and the Pitt offense saw their first snap. After Slye capped the game's opening drive with a 31-yard field goal, Panthers kick returner Quadree Henderson fumbled on the kickoff, turning the ball over on the Pitt 19. On Pitt's next drive, Peterman was picked in Panther territory by linebacker Mook Reynolds.
Backed up to the goal line two drives in a row, the Pitt defense was unshaken. Virginia Tech came away with only three points. Slye booted a 21-yard field goal, extending the Hokies' lead to 6-0, and added a 22-yard try for good measure early in the second quarter.
Pitt's offense took just six snaps in the first quarter, with 11 of their 12 total yards coming on a single Conner carry. After 22 minutes and three fruitless drives, Pitt's playmakers found their footing and the offense sprang to life. Peterman connected with four different receivers for first downs, and Conner finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown plunge.
The Panthers got the ball back with 1:54 left in the half, down 16-7 after the Hokies' first touchdown. On first down, Peterman hit tight end Scott Orndoff over the middle, and the big man lumbered down the home sideline for 71 yards, setting up Conner's second score.
Conner's third came on the first drive of the second half, when he paused for a beat, sizing up his adversary, and then plowed over Andrew Motuapuaka, the sturdy Virginia Tech linebacker, and knocked him flat on his back and into the end zone. Pitt had its first lead, 21-16.
The Hokies' hopes seemed low when Evans went down with an injury while being swallowed up on a third down midway through the third quarter. But Slye legged them into the lead with two more chip-shot field goals, and Evans returned in time to hand off to Marshawn Williams, who powered into the end zone from 2 yards out with 7 seconds left in the quarter.
More Conner carries and a timely pass-interference call put Pitt in position to call once again on O'Neill. He lined up at left tackle, disengaged at the snap and took a handoff from Peterman and headed for the right pylon. A low hit sent him flying, but he stretched the ball over the goal line.
A two-point conversion tied the game, but Slye then untied it with a 22-yard field goal. The sides swapped touchdowns later in the quarter, but, in the end, Slye's sixth kick was the difference.
