Virginia Tech and Pitt set to make college football history with unranked 4-0 clash

Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Virginia Tech and Pitt set to make college football history with unranked 4-0 clash

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Sep 29, 2026 11:01 AM ET

It's hard to imagine that anyone thought one of the marquee matchups in Week 5 of the college football season was going to be between the Pitt Panthers and Virginia Tech Hokies.

If someone did in fact think that, then they certainly couldn't have known the history the two teams will be making on Friday night when they take the field under the lights at Lane Stadium.

Pitt, Virginia Tech are both 4-0, but unranked

An interesting factoid has made its way around social media in the early part of the week surrounding the game between the ACC foes.

According to research done by Virginia Tech writer Shelton Moss, Friday's Virginia Tech-Pitt game will be the first matchup in modern college football history to feature two unranked, 4-0 teams from major conferences. It will be only the third meeting since at least the 1960s between two unranked, undefeated Division I teams entering with matching 4-0-or-better records.

I just looked it up... it has never happened.

Virginia Tech-Pitt will be the first matchup in the history of modern college football to feature two unranked, 4-0 major conference teams.

It has only happened three times in ANY Division I game ever. https://t.co/5SRm81cekk
— Shelton Moss (@SheltonMoss21) September 29, 2026

Only other instances of this ever happening:

• 1967: 4-0 Harvard vs. 4-0 Dartmouth
• 1963: 4-0-1 Miss State vs. 4-0-1 Memphis (cheating but both teams were still technically undefeated)

Pretty incredible.
— Shelton Moss (@SheltonMoss21) September 29, 2026

Where exactly do the teams fall in the rankings?

Both teams received votes in the Week 5 AP Poll, meaning they're each right on cusp of being ranked. Virginia Tech received 86 votes, unofficially ranking them as the No. 30 team in the country.

Pitt wasn't far behind, as it received 52 votes, unofficially ranking the Panthers as the No. 32 team in the country.

Who has the edge in this game?

Virginia Tech is one of the toughest places to play in all of college football, but Pitt has one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC in Mason Heintschel.

Through four games, Heintschel has racked up 1,191 yards (11th in NCAA) with 13 touchdowns (4th in NCAA) and just one interception.

Virginia Tech's quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is also off to a stellar start, throwing for 1,012 yads with eight touchdowns and no interceptions through four games.

The game is likely going to come down to which quarterback makes the fewest mistakes. Grunkemeyer has one more year of college experience under his belt, which will give the Hokies the slight advantage at home on Friday night.

A win for Virginia Tech would likely catapult the Hokies inside the AP Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 13, 2021.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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