BLACKSBURG, Va. (Interstat) — Pittsburgh built a two-score fourth-quarter lead and then survived a late Virginia Tech rally, defeating the Hokies 35-33 in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game Friday at Lane Stadium. The visiting Panthers improved to 5-0, while Virginia Tech fell to 4-1. Pittsburgh’s defense sealed the result when John Love’s 36-yard field-goal attempt with two seconds remaining was no good, ending the Hokies’ final drive.

Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer turned in a prolific passing performance, completing 30 of 41 attempts for 434 yards and three touchdowns while also running for a score. He opened the scoring with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Que’Sean Brown with 13:44 left in the first quarter and later added a 1-yard rushing touchdown at the 10:08 mark. Brown finished with seven receptions for 147 yards and one touchdown. Ayden Greene caught four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, Davion Brown had two catches for 42 yards and a late touchdown, and Luke Reynolds added seven receptions for 93 yards and one tackle.

Pittsburgh countered with effective quarterback play of its own. Mason Heintschel completed 10 of 18 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown and rushed four times for minus 2 yards. Holden Geriner was 8 of 12 for 78 yards and a touchdown and carried once for 3 yards. Cataurus Hicks proved to be the Panthers’ most dangerous target, catching three passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns while returning three punts for 36 yards. Censere Lee added five receptions for 38 yards, Bryce Yates had two catches for 47 yards, and La’Vell Wright scored on a 1-yard run. Carson Kent recorded one carry for 2 yards and one reception for 3 yards.

The Hokies started quickly. Grunkemeyer connected with Que’Sean Brown for a 38-yard score, and after a defensive stop, the quarterback ran in from a yard out to give Virginia Tech an early two-touchdown lead. Pittsburgh got on the board with 10 seconds left in the first quarter when J. Turner rushed 20 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Love made a 26-yard field goal before Pittsburgh’s La’Vell Wright scored on a 1-yard run. Grunkemeyer then found Greene for a 22-yard touchdown, but Pittsburgh’s Heintschel connected with Hicks for a 22-yard score with 31 seconds remaining before halftime.

Pittsburgh seized control after halftime. D. Ferguson Jr. rushed 15 yards for a touchdown with 10:13 remaining in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, Geriner found Hicks for a 29-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 35-24 advantage. Virginia Tech answered with a safety and then moved within two when Grunkemeyer hit Davion Brown for a 28-yard touchdown with 10:07 left. Love’s extra point trimmed the margin to 35-33. The Hokies had one final chance, but Love’s 36-yard field-goal try with two seconds remaining missed, allowing Pittsburgh to escape.

Virginia Tech’s defense received six tackles each from Kaleb Spencer and Kemari Copeland, with each adding one quarterback hurry. Cam Chadwick Jr. made five tackles, Keon Wylie had four, and Elhadj Fall, Quentin Reddish and DQ Smith each finished with three. Jaquez White recorded three tackles. Kenny Woseley Jr., Aycen Stevens, Isaiah Brown-Murray, Cortez Harris, Randy Adirika, Noah Chambers and Tyson Flowers each made two tackles. Stevens added a sack, while Gerard Johnson III, Samuel Okunlola, Jason Abbey, George Ballance and Sheldon Robinson each had one tackle. Curtis Jones Jr. recorded one quarterback hurry.

Pittsburgh’s defense was paced by Cruce Brookins with eight tackles. Raion Strader, Sean FitzSimmons and Isaiah Neal each had six tackles, and Neal added half a sack and one quarterback hurry. DeMarco Ward made six tackles and two quarterback hurries, while Nick James added five tackles. Braylan Lovelace and Jeremiah Marcelin each had five tackles, and Marcelin contributed one quarterback hurry. Shawn Lee Jr. made four tackles and an interception.

Virginia Tech’s Jeffrey Overton Jr. carried 17 times for 46 yards, caught five passes for 36 yards and returned two kickoffs for 89 yards. Marcellous Hawkins Jr. ran eight times for 32 yards and caught two passes for 11 yards. Tyseer Denmark had one run for 2 yards and one reception for no gain. Marlion Jackson caught one pass for 9 yards, and Benji Gosnell had one reception for 8 yards. Nathan Totten punted four times for 145 yards.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Virginia Tech 36, Pittsburgh 35. Interstat’s ELO system gave Pittsburgh a 56.3 percent probability to win. Pittsburgh had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +2.5. The total score of 68 went under the over/under line of 54.5.