Pitt runs over Georgia Tech 34-11 behind Ferguson's 185 yards, becomes bowl eligible

Pitt got the result it needed on Halloween night at Acrisure Stadium. Freshman running back Damon Ferguson Jr. ran for a career-high 185 yards and two touchdowns, and the Panthers beat Georgia Tech 34-11. The win ended a three-game losing streak and made Pitt bowl eligible at 6-3, 3-3 in the ACC.

It was also Pitt's first win since quarterback Mason Heintschel went down for the season with a knee injury in the early-October win at Virginia Tech, according to the AP recap on ESPN. Ferguson carried 31 times, On3 reported. He was the main reason Pitt outrushed the Yellow Jackets 281-95 and outgained them 461-238 overall.

He scored from 3 yards out to finish a 15-play, 86-yard drive in the second quarter. La'Vell Wright then made it 17-0 with a 1-yard run before halftime. Holden Geriner completed 13 of 30 passes for 180 yards, and his 30-yard touchdown to Cataurus Hicks early in the fourth quarter put Pitt up 27-3. Ferguson's 1-yard run with 3:28 left closed the scoring, per Field Level Media.

The defense may have been the bigger story. A week after giving up 52 points at No. 1 Miami, Pitt sacked Georgia Tech quarterbacks five times. Georgia Tech converted only 3 of 18 third downs. Alberto Mendoza completed 16 of 25 passes for 81 yards and fumbled three times before Grady Adamson replaced him in the fourth quarter. Adamson ran for 63 yards and the Jackets' only touchdown, an 18-yard run followed by a two-point conversion.

The game could have been more lopsided. Tight end Carson Kent fumbled the ball through the end zone while trying to score, an early Ferguson touchdown was called back for a penalty, and Pitt was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1. The Panthers were flagged 10 times for 95 yards, turned it over three times and had several drops. That is the kind of sloppiness that hurt them in narrow losses to North Carolina and Boston College.

The loss was Georgia Tech's third in a row and dropped the Jackets to 2-6, 1-4 in the ACC. They have now lost six of their last seven games against Pitt. A year after going 9-4 and climbing to No. 7 in the AP poll, Georgia Tech is at risk of its worst season since it went 1-10 in 1994.

What it means next

Pitt has a bye before it hosts Florida State on Friday, November 13, on ESPN. The Seminoles are 3-5 and 1-4 in the ACC, and Pitt is 5-1 at home this season. Through nine games the Panthers are scoring about 31.9 points a game and allowing about 19.8. Take away the Miami game and they have given up 14 or fewer points in five of their other eight. The running game now has to carry an offense without its starting quarterback, so the penalties and turnovers will matter more against a conference opponent with something to play for.

Georgia Tech's turnaround is shorter. The Jackets host Louisville on Saturday, November 7, on ACC Network. The Cardinals are 5-3 and 4-2 in the ACC. Georgia Tech is allowing about 30.8 points a game and has given up 34 or more in four of its six losses. Its only wins came against Mercer and by three points against Duke. The quarterback situation is also unsettled after Mendoza was benched against Pitt, and with four games left, the Jackets will need an upset or two to avoid a historically poor finish.