PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Georgia Tech won the turnover battle at Pitt on Saturday night and still lost by 23, falling 34-11 to the Panthers at Acrisure Stadium for a third defeat in a row.
The Yellow Jackets slipped to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference games. Pitt improved to 6-3 and 3-3, snapping its own three-game slide and clinching bowl eligibility.
Pitt pounded the ball all night. Freshman Damon Ferguson led the way with 185 yards, his best this season, as the Panthers piled up 281 rushing yards and outgained Tech 461-238 while sacking Yellow Jackets quarterbacks five times.
Tech kept it closer than the numbers suggested in the first half. Linebacker Jonas Duclona and Taje McCoy each forced a fumble, and Duclona and Zachary Tobe fell on the loose balls, taking away one Pitt chance inside the Tech end zone and set up a field goal with three seconds left before the break. Even so, the Jackets went to halftime down 17-3 after being outgained 270-77.
Starter Alberto Mendoza completed 16 of 25 passes for 81 yards through three quarters and fumbled three times. Sophomore Grady Adamson took over in the fourth and produced 132 of the team’s yards, with 63 rushing and 62 passing, and scored on an 18-yard run one play after freshman Trae Steveson Jr. made his first career interception.
It was a career night for Duclona, who added 10 tackles and broke up two passes. The 11 points and 238 yards were Tech’s lowest totals of the season, and Tech converted just 4 of its 23 tries on third and fourth down.
The defeat drops Georgia Tech to 6-13 all-time against Pitt and 2-6 in games played in Pittsburgh.
Georgia Tech hosts Louisville at Bobby Dodd Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 7, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
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