Virginia Tech football: 6 takeaways from Hokies’ heartbreaking loss to Pitt

The Virginia Tech Hokies lost their first game of the James Franklin era on Friday night, falling 35-33 to the Pittsburgh Panthers. However, that result isn't without some controversy — more on that later.

Virginia Tech outgained Pittsburgh 499 to 295 and still lost. Those weren't junk yards either. The Hokies dominated until self-inflicted mistakes gave Pitt the ball in tremendous field position. For the most part, the Panthers took advantage.

Still, the game came down to the final play when kicker John Love, kicking from the right hash, pushed it left and Pitt celebrated.

With the loss, the Hokies fall to 4-1 and 1-1 in the ACC. Here are six takeaways from Friday's heartbreaking loss.

We'll talk about officiating. It's horrendous. But if Virginia Tech doesn't turn the ball over four times, this game is not even close. Let's focus on three turnovers because one shouldn't have been a turnover. Overall, the Hokies turned the ball over in their own territory three times. The fourth turnover came on quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer's only really bad throw inside the 5-yard line. While Pitt didn't score off every turnover, each was costly. That final turnover took points off the board for the Hokies. If you lose the turnover battle 4-0, you generally never win. The Hokies are/were the better team, but that doesn't matter when you keep turning the ball over. Ultimately, this is why Virginia Tech lost.

Yes, Grunkemeyer passed for 434 yards and three touchdowns, so this was, at least statistically, his best game. He did have three turnovers, but you can only call one his fault. The strip sack was because the right tackle was badly beaten, and the defender made a good play. Pitt had the best defense Grunkemeyer has faced all year. He was dealing. Grunkemeyer made more big-time throws in this game than he had in the previous four games combined. Concerns lingered about his deep ball. He answered those tonight. He dropped a couple in the bucket for Que'Sean Brown. And his dart to Luke Reynolds on fourth down on that final drive was impressive. Grunkemeyer made multiple NFL-level throws on Friday night. Turnovers were not an issue for Grunkemeyer before Friday. I don't suspect they will be a big deal moving forward. He takes care of the ball. The Hokies got a good one in Grunk.

Yes, Pitt scored 35 points, but VT's defense only allowed 299 yards. Pitt had only 191 passing yards between both quarterbacks, and the Hokies held the Panthers to an average of 3.4 yards per carry. The offense kept putting Pry's defense in a bad position all night. For the most part, that unit responded. Trust me, things could've been much worse without some defensive stops. The defense has some issues. The front four doesn't win consistently. Aycen Stevens had another sack, but that was the only one. The Hokies have some disruptive pass rushers, but they need to win more. I still have some concerns about the secondary. Their tackling is bad, and they have too many open receivers every game. Overall, I like the front seven. The linebackers are terrific tacklers. But when you take everything into account, the defense actually kept giving the offense more opportunities, especially in the final quarter. I noticed a lot of Pry hate, but I feel it was unfair. The offense, despite putting up close to 500 yards, made too many mistakes in this one.

One area I will criticize Pry is that he seems slow to adjust. That can hurt you in these closer games. When Pitt lost quarterback Mason Heintschel in the third quarter, it was clear the Panthers would run the ball. They ran it like six straight times for 50 yards and a touchdown. Poor tackling was also an issue here. We saw Pry take a while to adjust to Boston College's quarterback running all over them late last week.

Once the Hokies crossed midfield and kept their timeouts, it was clear they were running the clock down and getting in position to kick a potential game-winning field goal. Why not play for the touchdown? Pitt's defense played better in the second half, but when the Hokies wanted to move the ball through the air, they had no problems. I would have liked to have seen VT keep it going with shorter, safe throws to Luke Reynolds and Que'Sean Brown. Keep the chains moving and maybe take a shot.

For Franklin, I believe it came down to two things. First, he trusted John Love. He should. One of the top kickers in school history, Love has had a terrific career and is considered one of the best kickers in college football. A 36-yarder should've been a chip shot for Love. But he yanked it wide. I can appreciate Franklin trusting his guy here.

Secondly, Franklin just watched his offense turn it over four times. He wasn't going to take another chance with the game on the line. For this reason alone, I get why he played for the field goal.

Let's set aside the Boston College game for a moment because of the weather. In Virginia Tech's other four games, we've seen a familiar theme: the Hokies start fast and build a double-digit lead. Then, in the second half, the offense becomes stale or predictable. A lack of running game plays a part in that. Jeffrey Overton is phenomenal, but the run blocking is lacking. In this game, the Hokies scored 24 in the first and nine in the second half — all in the fourth quarter. We know turnovers played a part in this one, but offensive coordinator Ty Howle must figure out why it is becoming a theme. Is it his playcalling? Is it execution? Howle and Franklin need to figure out the cause and find a way to change it. You can't blow a 14-point lead at home. The Hokies must find a balance between fast starts and sluggish second halves.

Several calls should raise red flags, but we'll focus on a couple. There was an offensive pass interference called on wide receiver Ayden Greene in the first half, where the defender was falling down. Greene caught the ball. It was wiped out. A terrible call.

Now, to the main event. The interception. Just before halftime, Grunkemeyer's pass to Fatrat Brown looked complete. But the officials ruled it an interception, even though it was clear Brown and Cameron Lindsey both had the football. The old rule is that simultaneous possession favors the offense. However, officials ruled it an interception on the field, so replay officials didn't feel there was enough to overturn it. What are we doing here? Check out what NFL rules expert Terry McAuley said about the play. McAuley took it a step further: this wasn't even a simultaneous catch.

McAuley was an NFL official for 20 years and has been NBC's rules analyst for eight years. He is not a Virginia Tech or Pitt fan. This gave Pitt the ball deep in VT territory with around one minute remaining in the first half. After a defensive stand, the Hokies had the ball back with over a minute on the clock, multiple timeouts and a 10-point lead. This error changed everything.

Why do we even have replay if you can't fix the bad calls on the field?

Finally, there's that Love kick. That's a kick he should make 10 out of 10 times. He wanted it on the right hash, and that's where Grunkemeyer got it for him. And he still pushed it wide. That's on him. If you hit it down the middle, we aren't even talking about it.

You had several fans of other teams and national analysts saying they believed it was good. It sure looked like it.

But it should've never come down to this. Let us know what you think.