Vincent Davis ran for a career-high 247 yards and one touchdown to help Pitt outlast Georgia Tech 34-20 on Thursday in Atlanta.

Davis carried 25 times, including a career-long 74-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, and scored on a 38-yard run with two minutes left to put the game away. He entered the game with 385 rushing yards this year, and his previous career high was 69 yards against Eastern Michigan in the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl.

Pitt (6-5, 5-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) strengthened its postseason credentials and defeated Georgia Tech for the third straight time. Kenny Pickett completed 17 of 34 passes for 196 yards with one interception and one touchdown, and he also ran for a touchdown. Senior Alex Kessman matched his career-high with four field goals.

For Georgia Tech (3-7, 3-6), Jeff Sims completed 17 of 31 passes for 238 yards with two interceptions and two touchdown tosses. He also scored a rushing TD.

The Pitt defense came up with three sacks and has an NCAA-best 46. The Panthers had six tackles for loss to finish the regular season with a school-record 111.

Pitt drove inside the Georgia Tech 10-yard line on its first two possessions but came away with only three points. The Panthers settled for a 27-yard Kessman field goal after reaching the 9. Pitt gambled on fourth-and-goal at the 1 on the next possession but Jared Ivey pressured Pickett into an incompletion.

That led to a 98-yard scoring drive for Georgia Tech, capped by Sims' 1-yard run for a 7-3 lead.

Pitt scored on its next three possessions -- field goals of 25 and 30 by Kessman and a 60-yard pass from Pickett to DJ Turner -- and led 16-7 at halftime.

The Panthers opened the second half with Pickett scoring on a 1-yard run, but Georgia Tech answered when Sims found Jalen Camp for a 21-yard touchdown.

Pitt added a 22-yard field goal from Kessman, but Georgia Tech responded with a quick score. An 18-yard pass from Sims to Dylan Deveney finished the drive and cut the deficit to 26-20 with 6:01 remaining.

--Field Level Media