PITTSBURGH CAME INTO SCOTTS STADIUM AND WAS SENT PACKING

  Prime time on ESPN 2 and everything except for the third quarter for the Hoos went right. Virginia now 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC won a important game Saturday night against a coastal division opponent. Virginia went into halftime with a comfortable 24-3 lead and It was assumed that the Cavaliers would continue their domination in the second half. In the first quarter of play both teams started off lethargic, only putting up a total of 6 points by field goals. A spark was created by the defense and offense in the second quarter. Kevin Parks the Wahoos leading rusher ripped off a 48 yard run to the end zone with 10:51 on clock. Just under 7 minutes later the Cavaliers offense struck again with a 3 yard touch pass from Matt Johns to Khalek Sheppard putting the cavaliers up 17-3. Much of the offense success came with help from their defense forcing numerous three and outs for the Panthers offense. The crowd was wild and the Cavaliers were amped up. Pittsburgh just as any team would like to wanted to get more points on the board before the first ended but the stingy Cavaliers defense had other plans. At the 2:40 mark Max Valles with four of his finger wrapped up picked off Chad Voytik taking it to the house for a touchdown! This game look like it would get out of hand the rest of the way.

   The third quarter painted a completely different picture than what we saw in the first and second quarters. The Pittsburgh Panthers were able to come out hot scoring ten points in the third to bring the Cavaliers lead to 24-13 making things very uncomfortable for the Hoos going into the fourth quarter. The Pittsburgh Panthers were able to squeeze one more score in during the fourth quarter with 1:27 left on the clock but couldn't punch the two point conversion in to decrease the Cavaliers lead to just three points. The Cavaliers were able to hold on and win the game even with having a bad second half with not putting any points on the board after their first half onslaught. The defense held the Panthers leading rusher James Conner who before saturdays game was ranked third in the country averaging 158 yards per game and second with nine touchdowns to just 21 carries for 83 yards. Kevin Parks finished the game with 169 yards on 29 carries. A great win for the Hoos against a coastal division opponent but they definitely have to fix their second half play down the stretch.  #wahoowa #theACCDN