Pittsburgh came into this game 0-2 with losses to Youngstown State (31-17) and Cincinnati (34-10). Virginia Tech came in at 2-0 and was ranked 13th in the country. Virginia Tech was picked to win by Vegas by 12.5 points.
Pitt came out strong with Ray Graham capping off their opening drive with a 12 yard TD run to give the Panthers an early lead. Pitt's defense held serve on the Hokies first two drives. Tino Sunseri then led an 86 yard drive with the big play being a 40 yard completion to Mike Shanahan. The Hokies finished the first quarter with two passes intercepted, one punt and down 14-0.
In the second quarter, the Panthers took advantage of a Michael Holmes fumble and Ray Graham ran for another TD to put Paul Chryst and Pitt up 21-0 as Chryst looked for his first victory at Pitt. The Panthers took a 21-3 lead into halftime after four Hokies turnovers. The Hokies pulled to within 11 in the second half after a 94 yard punt return and an 85 yard pass play from Logan Thomas to Marcus Davis but they simply dug themselves too big of a hole. The Panthers won 35 to 17 as Tino Sunseri threw for 283 yards, Ray Graham ran for two TDs and the Hokies turned the ball over four times. This game would be a turning point for the Hokies as it was the beginning of a 2-6 stretch for the Hokies.
Biggest Upsets of 2012
#11 Oregon State 10 Wisconsin 7
#10 San Diego State 21 Boise State 19
#8 Pittsburgh 35 Virginia Tech 17
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