Georgia Tech opponent: What Pitt did last week

Members of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Cheerleaders perform during the game against Jacksonville State Gamecocks on September 9, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

Credit: Scott Cunningham

Credit: Scott Cunningham

Members of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Cheerleaders perform during the game against Jacksonville State Gamecocks on September 9, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

The Pitt Panthers enter Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium coming off of a 59-21 thrashing at the hands of Oklahoma State.

It was ugly from the beginning, with the Cowboys taking a 35-0 lead less than four minutes into the second quarter.

The Panthers responded by pulling their starting quarterback, graduate transfer Max Browne, and replacing him with sophomore Ben DiNucci. That worked for a while. DiNucci’s first two drives ended in touchdowns, but that was the end of the offense’s scoring for the day.

Pitt tacked on a score with a fumble recovery in the end zone in the third quarter.

The stats heavily favored the Cowboys because of the passing game. Oklahoma State passed for 572 yards (26-of-37) with five touchdown passes and one interception. Pitt passed for 288 yards (20-of-35) with one touchdown and two interceptions.

The ground game was basically even. Oklahoma State gaining 104 yards to Pitt’s 103. OSU attempted one more rush than Pitt did. The Cowboys ran for two touchdowns, and Pitt ran for one.

Pitt had an edge of three minutes in time of possession, but trailed considerably in third-down conversions: 5-of-15 to 10-of-14.

Oklahoma State ran 72 plays to Pitt’s 69, and because of its success through the air, OSU had a better average per play, 9.4 to 5.7.

Game time for Saturday is 12:20 p.m., and WUPA (Channel 69) will televise it.