Notable Numbers: Virginia Tech at Pitt

Big Night in the Air

Two receivers and a tight end had career nights for the Hokies, including Da’Wain Lofton (2 catches, 47 yards), Kaleb Smith (9 catches, 152 yards) and Dae’Quan Wright (5 catches, 47 yards).

Lofton hauled in the longest pass of his career, catching a 43-yarder in the end zone from quarterback Grant Wells. Smith tallied his career high in both catches (9) and yards (152) and he becomes the first Hokie in 10 games to rack up over 100 receiving yards in a game since Tré Turner did so at Georgia Tech on Oct. 30, 2021. Wright finished with career highs in both catches (5) and yards (47), too.

Couple Firsts on D

Defensive lineman Jayden McDonald tallied the first sack of his career, doing so at the start of the fourth quarter, which led to a fourth and 20 that would end up being a blocked punt. On that play, P.J. Prioleau came off fast on the left side and dove and blocked the punt, with Nyke Johnson falling on it in the end zone for the touchdown. It marked Prioleau’s first-ever punt block and Johnson’s first-ever touchdown. The blocked punt was the Hokies’ first since Tré Turner blocked a punt against Virginia in Lane Stadium on Nov. 23, 2018 and Jovonn Quillen recovered the punt in the end zone for a touchdown. Linebacker Keonta Jenkins caught an interception off a tipped pass, marking his first interception as a Hokie.

Causing Havoc

Tech’s defense has shown signs of making quarterbacks uncomfortable this season, with there being three games this year of quarterbacks throwing under 56 percent for completions. Saturday, Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis was 15-of-28 in the air for a 53.6 percentage, marking the second-lowest completion percentage of any quarterback Tech has faced this season. A key reason for that was the Hokies were in his face a good amount while making throws under duress, racking up a season-high six quarterback hurries.

Good Things Come to an End

As the saying goes, things don’t last forever, so you have to appreciate them in the moment. With that, two streaks for Tech came to an end…