Panthers Maul Hokies 35-17

It was, just the complete opposite of what you might think.

Pittsburgh came out of the gate strong and continued, holding off a late Virginia Tech rally for a 35-17 upset win over the 13th ranked Hokies Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.

"I don't think we were away from earth," coach

The Panthers easily marched down the field for a touchdown on the first drive of the game and added two more touchdowns in the first half.

Pittsburgh got going early and easily, driving 75 yards on just six plays capped by a 12-yard touchdown run by senior running back

Meanwhile, everything that could go wrong for Virginia Tech, did. Junior quarterback

Thomas said on the third interception, his arm was hit while it was in motion, but he doesn't believe it's something he's doing wrong, just unfortunate outcomes.

"Everything has felt pretty well (with the arm)," Thomas said. "They made it tough on us, pressing us up, making us throw into tight windows. It's nothing mechanical and I feel pretty good."

Pittsburgh added a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback

The Panthers missed a pair of field goals, from 35 yards and 33 yards just before halftime, but the Hokies couldn't capitalize. Redshirt freshman running back

Virginia Tech's only points of the first half came on a 32-yard field goal by

The Hokies finally got some life as sophomore

But the momentum was quickly lost when Graham scored his third touchdown of the day, an 18-yard catch on a wheel route. The drive continued a recurring theme on the day of the Hokies being gashed by the run, giving up 254 such yards, 537 yards in total offense.

"It's nothing that can't be fixed," senior linebacker

Virginia Tech got back in the game quickly after, with one of its few third conversions of the game, an 85-yard catch by senior wide receiver

The Hokies had another great chance to play catch up early in the fourth quarter, when junior cornerback

Pittsburgh finally salted the game away with a six-yard touchdown catch by

Virginia Tech's last chance came on a late drive that ended when Thomas' pass for sophomore

There's plenty of concerns now for the Hokies, who will likely drop out of the top 25 rankings.

Virginia Tech went one game last season without rushing for 100 yards. After today's 59-yard total, it's two in three games. A thought-to-be stout defense has plenty of holes. And a quarterback with an outside shot at the Heisman trophy to start the season, might not get a cardboard crown at Burger King.

But Beamer believes this loss could be a good thing and will make his team better in the long run.

"All those things, three turnovers in the first quarter and a late hit, throwing a quarterback to the ground, jumping offsides, those are things that directly go opposite of winning," he said. "We've been a team that the first couple of games hadn't had many penalties. We know how to win, we just have to learn from this game and get back to it."