Georgia Tech made it five games in a row that it has allowed the opposition to score on the first possession of the game. Pittsburgh took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in a mere six plays to take a 7-0 lead.
The Panthers succeeded by running a string of misdirection plays at the Yellow Jackets for big gains. The last was the most punitive. Quarterback Nathan Peterman rolled to his right and then threw a backwards pass across the field to offensive tackle Brian O’Neill, who was wide open and charged into the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown run.
Pittsburgh joined Mercer, Vanderbilt, Clemson and Miami in scoring on its first series of the game.
Coming into the game, the Panthers had themselves scored opening-drive touchdowns in three of their first five games.
Tech was resolved to stop the trend going into the game. Defensive end Rod Rook-Chungong called it “embarrassing.” Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said that the defense had not done a good job adjusting to Miami and Clemson’s up-tempo pace and needed to be ready.
“We can’t be the nail,” Chungong said. “We’ve got to be the hammer on the first series.”