Pitt's Braylan Lovelace, Ja'Kyrian Turner awarded ACC player of the week honors
Pitt tailback Ja’Kyrian Turner and linebacker Braylan Lovelace produced the two most consequential plays Saturday in the Panthers’ 42-28 road upset of No. 15 Georgia Tech.
Turner rushed for a 56-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to ice the game, and Lovelace recorded a 100-yard pick-6 to pour cold water on a promising Yellow Jackets drive.
For their efforts, both players earned weekly honors from the ACC.
Turner, who rushed 20 times for 201 yards and a score Saturday, took home ACC Rookie and Running Back of the Week honors. Lovelace won Linebacker of the Week.
Ja'Kyrian Turner runs it 56 yards up the middle for a Pitt TD pic.twitter.com/t7Zcd13vIh
— The off-season (@TheOffSeasonCFB) November 23, 2025
Not since Israel Abanikanda in 2022 had a Pitt tailback rushed for north of 200 yards, and he also rushed for the most yards against a Power Four opponent by any freshman in program history.
Turner led the ACC in rushing yards (201), all-purpose yards (213) and yards per carry (9.6) this past weekend.
Turner is up to a team-high 633 yards with seven scores on 114 rushes.
Lovelace, in addition to his touchdown, recorded four tackles against Georgia Tech. He ranks third on the team with 65 tackles.
Saturday’s Play of the Day
Braylan Lovelace takes an interception 99 yards for the Pitt touchdown. pic.twitter.com/GgSdpzuiA1
— The Get Back Coach (@TheGBCoach) November 23, 2025
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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