Somehow made it threw the day without spoilers, and watched the Pitt-UVa game around 7pm last night. That broadcast was the full-on, classic ACC experience. A Raycom produced nightmare of awkward camera angles, following the wrong guy and flat out missed shots. Complete with a non-stop scroll that actually covered part of the screen rather than being below it.

And if that wasn’t enough, Ron Cherry as the lead official for the referee crew to make sure it was a flag fest. #goACC

As for Virginia, it is arguable that they now have the 3d or 4th best basketball-football combo in the ACC. Behind Louisville, UNC and a toss-up with VT. Bronco Mendenhall was a really good hire for the Hoos. You can see the improvement. Not just from last year, but from the start of the season.

As expected, Virginia came out throwing on Pitt. And connecting deep. They abused Pitt’s defense in the first half. It was looking like it would be that way the entire game. Then just before the half...

Instead of playing conservatively and heading into the half with the score tied, offensive coordinator Robert Anae decided that if Virginia got near midfield on a first-down run from its 32, he’d take another shot of the sort that had riddled the Panther defense for 185 passing yards to that point.

With the Cavaliers at their 45 after a 13-yard run by Taquan “Smoke” Mizzell, Kurt Benkert’s throw over the middle was intercepted at the Pitt 41 by Jordan Whitehead and returned 59 yards for a touchdown, sucking the wind out of Scott Stadium and taking the air out of the Virginia offense.

It never regained its stride. And with the second half played on Pitt’s grind-it-out terms, Virginia’s two-game win streak was history.

“After we got that yardage I put the gas to the pedal and it completely backfired on us,” Anae said.

This is how Jordan Whitehead saw it.

Pitt was in its third-down defense when Virginia lined up on third-and-10 from its 44. Whitehead said he locked eyes with Benkert, who had thrown an incomplete pass to the sideline on the previous snap. He then saw tailback Albert Reid get in position for the reception, and waited to make his move.

“I saw the quarterback, he keyed on me, looking at me,” Whitehead said. “We’re taught to read the quarterback. When he was looking at me I stayed still. I saw No. 2 slip in front of me, so I kind of just followed him a little bit and when he threw I was right there and saw an open field from there.”

…

Whitehead’s play changed the game.

“It was gigantic,” Narduzzi said. “We have been waiting for one of those picks in that coverage and we finally got one. We kind of baited [the quarterback] in there. … It was a tremendous football play by him, and then he finds a way to get into the end zone, not just get the interception.”

In the second half, the defense made a significant adjustment. They went to more of a pass defense operation rather than a base or run-stopping defense. That allowed the defense to bring more pressure on the quarterback and have better coverage on the receivers.

“It was a mentality,” senior nose tackle Tyrique Jarrett said of the team’s second-half recovery. “We sat back during halftime (after allowing four touchdowns in the first half) and talked about it.

“We corrected the mistakes. We just attacked it different.”

No strategic details were revealed, of course, but Pitt appeared to increase the pressure on Benkert, who kept attacking the secondary with deep throws and coming up with little or nothing. He completed only 20 of 45 pass attempts for 278 yards.

Other than a 74-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus and a 44-yard scoring run by Taquan Mizzell, Virginia had little success on offense. The Cavaliers amassed 270 yards in the first half and only 108 after intermission.

“Those two plays, you take them away and you are pretty happy with the entire effort,” Narduzzi said. “We paid attention to details in the second half.”

And I hate typing this, because it can look like I was happy for the injury, but Terrish Webb being forced out of the game with an apparent concussion helped Pitt. Webb has not been good this season. I know I was screaming from my couch to get Webb out of the game.

He was clearly being targeted by the Virginia offense in passing plays — and exploited. Even on the one pass break-up, he jumped too soon and the ball went through his hands and just doinked off the receiver’s helmet. As near as I can figure, the coaching staff feels he is better in run defense than Reggie Mitchell. But Mitchell is definitely a better safety in pass coverage. And with Webb out, there was no choice but to play Mitchell.

To my surprise, Pitt did not use Therran Coleman or Damar Hamlin. Preserving their redshirts for another week. And that likely shrinks the odds of them on the field further, but the gauntlet after the bye week could still change things.

Virginia is in rebuilding mode, and their inconsistencies started showing up more and more later in the game.  Especially as Pitt’s defense began to attack up front more and more as the game went on and adversity increased.

Sure enough, Virginia scored touchdowns on four of its first six possessions Saturday and outgained Pitt 214-67 in the opening quarter.

Then it all crumbled like a Washington sports team in the playoffs as the Panthers rolled to a 45-31 victory at Scott Stadium.

The Cavaliers couldn’t block, whether in pass protection or on short-yardage runs. Worn down on defense as Pitt hogged the ball for 20:21 of the second half, Virginia’s run defense softened.

“We are capable this year of winning in the conference,” offensive coordinator Robert Anae said, “but right now we are not capable of being consistent when a game is on the line.”

P.S., that is some seriously delicious shade being thrown at Washington (Nationals, Redskins, Wizards and Capitals).

P.P.S., Again, Virginia is in rebuilding mode, and should have reason for optimism. So, this piece of absolute negativity is astounding.

The Pitt offense was not not its usual self in that game. Virginia did a great job of containing jet sweeps. They have good linebackers and a vastly underrated saftey in Quin Blanding. He was responsible for 16 tackles on the defense. He covered the entire field.

Nate Peterman had his first off game in a while. His passes were not as crisp, didn’t see open receivers and definitely not as accurate. There were some scoring opportunities left on the field, but still did enough.

Special teams started poorly with back-to-back penalties that kept the Cavs opening drive going when they had to punt on 4th-and-10. But Quadree Henderson and Rafael Arujo-Lopes more than helped to change things with a kickoff return for a TD and a 69-yard runback to set up the short field for a TD.

The defense also featured a return of James Conner at defensive end for a couple plays.

In the last defensive series of Pitt’s 45-31 victory against Virginia on Saturday, Conner played two snaps on defense, putting pressure on quarterback Kurt Benkert on one play after he had rushed 20 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns from his tailback position.

It was all coach Pat Narduzzi’s idea.

“Coach came to me so we just went with it,” Conner said.

Narduzzi was so pleased he was able to give opposing coaches something else to think about while they prepare to play Pitt, he had a little fun with the officials.

“Funny story,” he said after the game. “I told the head linesman, ‘(No.) 24 is in on defense. They can’t block him. Could you go tell the center judge?’

“He goes and tells the center judge, which I didn’t think he would: ‘Coach said they can’t block him so watch for the holding.’ “

After the game, the official approached Narduzzi and said, “Coach, you were right. He beat two people on that play.”

Pitt now stands at 5-2 and a much needed bye week finally arrives. The defense, especially can use the time. Ejuan Price left the game with something bothering his hip or back. Hopefully just a muscle strain of some sort.