Friday football: Pitt survives as Liberty and Northwestern win on the ground

Pitt escaped Lane Stadium on a missed final kick, while Liberty and Northwestern built their Friday victories on the ground. The Panthers beat Virginia Tech 35–33, Liberty defeated Delaware 30–14 and Northwestern finished off Penn State 34–13.

Pitt survives the last kick

Pitt’s 35–33 win at Virginia Tech came down to John Love’s 36-yard field-goal attempt as time expired. The kick went wide left, according to Pitt’s official report, preserving the Panthers’ unbeaten start after the Hokies had driven to the Pitt 18.

The recovery began well before that final possession. Pitt trailed 14–0 in the first quarter and lost Mason Heintschel to an injury in the third. Holden Geriner took over and found Cataurus Hicks for a 29-yard fourth-quarter touchdown that stretched the lead to 35–24. Hicks caught two touchdowns from different quarterbacks and finished with 63 receiving yards.

Virginia Tech answered with a safety and a touchdown, but its four turnovers helped Pitt survive despite a 499–295 disadvantage in total yards. The Panthers improved to 5–0; the Hokies fell to 4–1.

Virginia Tech Athletics’ highlights cover the Friday game at Lane Stadium.

Read the Pitt–Virginia Tech recap.

Davis gives Liberty room to pull away

Kam Davis’s 56-yard touchdown run put Liberty ahead 13–0 midway through the second quarter at Delaware. Davis finished with 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Flames’ 30–14 win, which opened their Conference USA schedule.

Liberty built a 30–0 lead before Delaware’s two fourth-quarter scores. Its 282 rushing yards and 38:31 of possession left the Blue Hens with little time to recover. Delaware finished with 359 total yards but converted only two of 13 third downs and committed two turnovers.

The Blue Hens also changed quarterbacks during the night. EJ Archield Jr. made his first collegiate start and threw for 137 yards. Braden Streeter and Tyler Bell supplied the late touchdown passes, with Bell running in the final two-point conversion. Liberty moved to 4–1 and Delaware to 2–3.

Read the Liberty–Delaware recap.

Penn State–Northwestern

Penn State cut Northwestern’s lead to 10–7 on Carson Hansen’s eight-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Joseph Himon II answered with a 38-yard touchdown at 9:25, then added an 11-yard score before halftime. Those runs helped the Wildcats reach the break ahead 24–7.

Northwestern finished with 413 rushing yards to Penn State’s 48. Caleb Komolafe supplied 188 yards and a touchdown, while Himon added 162 and two scores. The Wildcats finished with 506 total yards. Penn State’s fourth-quarter touchdown cut the lead to 31–13, but Northwestern added a field goal to complete the scoring.

Read the Penn State–Northwestern recap.