Fading Panthers suffer 44-14 loss
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Jameel Sewell threw three first-quarter touchdown passes and Cedric Peerman ran for two scores as Virginia extended its winning streak to four games with a 44-14 victory over Pitt on Saturday night.
Sewell was 7-of-7 as Virginia (4-1) built a 27-0 first-quarter lead. His scoring passes covered 2 yards to Jonathan Stupar, 18 yards to Tom Santi and 5 yards to Rashawn Jackson.
Peerman, who entered the game as the Atlantic Coast Conference's rushing leader at 120 yards per game, scored on a 2-yard run and Chris Gould added a 23-yard field goal as the Cavaliers took a 30-7 lead at halftime.
Sewell finished 16-of-31 for 169 yards, while Peerman was held to 87 yards on 24 carries.
Pitt's first-half touchdown came on a 1-yard run by LeSean McCoy after Vic Hall muffed a punt and the Panthers' Tyler Tkach recovered at the Virginia 22. A 19-yard pass from Pat Bostick to Oderick Turner set up McCoy's TD.
Bostick also hooked up with Turner on a 2-yard scoring strike on the first play of the fourth quarter. The score was set up by a 42-yard Bostick-to-Turner pass on fourth and 2.
Virginia looked nothing like the team that stumbled to 105 yards and five first downs in a season-opening loss to Wyoming, eclipsing those totals in the opening period. But Pitt's offensive struggles continued. The Panthers, who failed to convert 22 consecutive third-down chances during one stretch this season, failed on their first seven third-down opportunities against the Cavaliers.
It was a nightmarish game for Pitt (2-3) from the start. The Panthers gambled by trying an onside kick to start the game but touched the ball prematurely, giving Virginia possession at the Panthers 39. It took the Cavaliers only four plays to score.
After a three-and-out by Pitt, Virginia needed only five plays to cover 51 yards. Sewell threw to Santi, who outjumped Pitt's Eric Thatcher in the end zone.
