The 3 Biggest X-Factors for Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh

The Virginia Tech Hokies return to the field on Thursday in a primetime matchup with the Pittsburgh Panthers. It's an all-important collision between two ACC Coastal Division rivals that are both currently 1-1 in conference play.

Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 8-5, but the Panthers have won four of the previous five meetings. Tech won last season in Blacksburg. 

After a 3-0 start to the season, the Panthers have lost three straight. The Hokies began the season at 2-0, including an upset win at Ohio State, before losing their next two games. VT is now 4-2 on the season after a win at North Carolina on October 4. 

Winning in the Steel City won't be easy for the Hokies. In three previous trips to Heinz Field, Tech is 0-3.

Here are three X-factors for the Hokies in their matchup with the Panthers.

Injuries

The Hokies enter Thursday's contest with a depleted corps of running backs. In the last two games, injuries have taken down Tech's top three tailbacks.

Shai McKenzie was lost for the season with a torn ACL vs. Western Michigan, while Trey Edmunds broke his clavicle at UNC, and Marshawn Williams sprained his ankle in the same game. 

While McKenzie and Edmunds are lost for the season, there was hope Williams would be able to return at Pitt. That won't be the case as the true freshman was ruled out this week, per Andy Bitter of The Roanoke Times. 

Junior J.C. Coleman, the former starter, will share carries with sophomore Joel Caleb and fullback Sam Rogers. For the season, the trio has combined to run the ball 42 times for 177 yards. Of the three, Caleb is the most intriguing option. 

Star defensive tackle Luther Maddy will also miss the Pitt game. The senior, who had arthroscopic knee surgery back in September, was looking to return Thursday night but appears to be at least a week away. 

Nigel Williams, who stepped in to start for Maddy over the last month, will combine with Ricky Walker and Woody Baron to replace Maddy. 

Cornerback Brandon Facyson will also miss Thursday's game. With each passing week, it looks more and more like a medical redshirt season for the sophomore. 

How the Hokies overcome some of these injuries will determine if they win on Thursday.

Stopping James Conner

The sophomore running back is No. 5 in college football with 874 rushing yards on the season. Conner went over 100 yards in each of the first four games—three of those were Pitt wins—but was held under 100 yards in each of the Panthers' last two games—both losses.

The 6'2", 250-pound wrecking ball is the key to Pitt's offense. If Conner is racking up yards, then sophomore quarterback Chad Voytik has more opportunities to look for Tyler Boyd down the field. Boyd is Pittsburgh's next star receiver. 

On the season, VT is No. 16 against the run, allowing just under 109 yards per game. Stopping the run is always Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster's top priority. 

Conner is not the type of back to rip off big runs. He can, but his specialty is grinding four, five and six yards at a time. If that happens against the Hokies, they are in for a long night. To Conner's credit, however, his longest run of the season is 60 yards. 

Foster is aware of the challenge that Conner presents, per Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch: 

"We’re going to have to gang tackle," Foster said. “We’re going to have to run through him. We’re going to have to do a lot of things to him. We’ve got to beat him up. We were able to do that last year."

It's important to note that Conner did leave last year's game—a 19-9 Virginia Tech win—after just two carries due to a shoulder injury. 

Losing Conner to an injury is likely why we won't see him play any snaps at defensive end, despite reports saying he would. 

This is probably the top matchup to watch. 

Michael Brewer Taking Care of the Ball

It's the same story every week for Brewer. He needs to stop turning the ball over, but he can't seem to do it. 

For the season, the junior quarterback has 11 interceptions. He has at least one interception in every start and four games with multiple picks. 

That must end, or it will doom the Hokies season.

It's no coincidence that in Tech's two losses, Brewer has five interceptions. 

Pittsburgh is historically a tough place to play for the Hokies, but Brewer can't make it any harder due to him being careless with the football. He has a tendency to force things when he doesn't necessarily need to. 

One area that Brewer has mastered, though, is third-down conversions. The Hokies were terrible on third down in 2013, but thanks to Brewer they are 10th in the country on third-down conversions this season, converting at a rate of 49 percent.

The Panthers enter Thursday's game with nine turnovers on the season. Eight of those turnovers are interceptions.

If Brewer takes care of the football and continues to be efficient on third down, Tech will be tough to beat.  

Stats courtesy of NCAA.com.