10 years after 4-7 Pitt upset No. 2 WVU, 4-7 Pitt upset No. 2 Miami

The 4-7 Pitt Panthers beat previously unbeaten No. 2 Miami, 24-14, on Black Friday in Pittsburgh. The win puts the Canes’ Playoff hunt in some doubt and gives the Panthers a win in their veritable bowl game.

The Panthers clamped down on Miami’s running game, allowing barely over 2 yards per carry, and driven Mark Richt to pull previously unbeaten starting QB Malik Rosier for the inexperienced Evan Shirreffs in the fourth quarter. That didn’t work either.

A quick scoring rundown:

The Canes did respond with a long TD from Rosier to Braxton Berrios to make it 24-14, then recovered an onside kick with 2:13 left.

The score that nearly sealed it: new freshman starting QB Kenny Pickett running a bootleg for 22 yards on fourth-and-5 to make it 24-7 with under 3 minutes to go.

Pitt took a 17-7 lead on a shovel pass touchdown from to Qadree Ollison with 1:47 to play in the third quarter.

The Panthers led 10-7 at halftime after Pickett ran for a 6-yard touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter.

ABC

Pitt has an upset history against elite teams.

Pat Narduzzi, the Pantheers’ coach, said at halftime:

“It happened in West Virginia, where we knocked off No. 2. It happened in South Carolina, and it’s happening in Pittsburgh today, Narduzzi said.

This game game comes almost 10 years to the week after a 4-7 Pitt played a regular season finale against No. 2 West Virginia in Morgantown as a 29-point underdog. The Panthers won that game, in arguably the most stunning rivalry upset in college football history.

Pitt started a true freshman, Pickett, at quarterback on Saturday for the first time since that WVU game, when Pat Bostick started for the Panthers.

And last year, Pitt was the only team to beat eventual national champion Clemson.

Pitt also beat 2016 Big Ten champion Penn State before the Nittany Lions took off.

Miami will play in the ACC Championship Game next weekend against Clemson regardless of the result against Pitt.

A win there would put Miami in the Playoff at any rate.

The Canes have made a habit this year of walking the tightrope against lesser teams, however, with four one-score wins against unranked teams and a comeback against Virginia the week prior to Pitt.

The Miami Hurricanes kept their record spotless after weathering an early onslaught from Virginia and ending the game on a 30-0 run last week. Miami’s resilience was rewarded with the No. 2 spot in the College Football Playoff’s updated ranking. The Pittsburgh Panthers are coming off a two-game losing streak, and they hope to end their disappointing season on a positive note Saturday. Miami travels to Pittsburgh to put their undefeated record on the line at noon ET on ABC(live stream).

Miami’s junior sensation Malik Rosier has put himself in the running for ACC player of the year with his exceptional quarterback play this season. Rosier is tied for second in the ACC in passing touchdowns with 23 on the season and ranks fourth in passing yards with 2,620.

Only Miami and Clemson rank in the top five for both scoring offense and defense in the ACC. Miami’s defense has averaged 2.7 takeaways per game and its turnover chain must be getting worn out with the amount of work it saw at Notre Dame. With Pittsburgh representing one of the weaker offenses in the ACC, I imagine the Panthers are going to have a rough day at the office against the Hurricanes.

Pittsburgh players have claimed they’re not afraid of Miami and have brought their sledgehammer out to exemplify their mantra of pounding the ball. That motto didn’t work last week as the Panthers were stood up on the goal line by Virginia Tech.

Darin Hall will look to add to his season total of 598 rushing yards against a Miami defense that completely erased Heisman hopeful Josh Adams. If Pittsburgh wants to win, it’ll have to make sure the turnover chain stays on the sideline and off the necks of players. Otherwise it’ll be a long day at Heinz field.

Time: Noon ET
Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
TV: ABC
Stream: WatchESPN.com
Odds: Miami is favored by 14 points

Safety Jaquan Johnson has been superb for Miami’s top-ranked pass defense all season

Off the heels of a 9 tackle, 1 TFL, 1 Interception, 1 TD game against Virginia, Johnson was named the ACC Defensive Back of the Week. This is the 3rd straight week Johnson has won an individual award.
With 75 tackles, 4 INT, and a TD on the year, Johnson is making a case for not only 1st team all-ACC (which should be a certainty at this point), but 1st team All-America honors.

Miami will be looking to run roughshod all over Pitt’s defense

In inclement weather, it’s usually best to have good ground support. Since putting up just 59 rushing yards against North Carolina four weeks ago, Miami has rushed for an average of 198 yards-per-game in their last three games. RB Travis Homer has provided the tough between the tackles running game that the ’Canes needed with RB Mark Walton out for the season.
The running ability of QB Malik Rosier has been the difference all season long for the Hurricanes, forcing the hand of opposing defenses to leave a spy or watch as Rosier scurries out of the pocket for a first down. The addition of RB/WR DeeJay Dallas provides an exciting dynamic to UM’s run game based on his elusiveness and versatility in handling the ball from multiple positions. With the weather getting cold, expect the ’Canes to be running hot Saturday afternoon.

After seemingly inching toward becoming a powerhouse, Pittsburgh has regressed this season

A year ago, the Pitt football program had enjoyed its second straight 8-win regular season. Those victories included big wins over rival Penn State and eventual national champion Clemson. Now, 12 months later, the program has a different feel.
The luster of those big wins wore off pretty quickly. The Panthers were taken to overtime by Youngstown State in the season opener and were beaten badly against Penn State, losing by 19 points in arguably the team’s biggest game of the season. Week Three brought an even uglier loss as Pitt was blown out of the water at home by Oklahoma State, losing 59-21.

If Pitt wants to slow down Miami’s run game it’ll need a great game from Oluwaseun Idowu

Idowu had a heck of a game, leading both teams in overall tackles (12) and leading the Panthers in solo stops (6). Idowu also had one of the team’s two sacks as well as a pass breakup.
Idowu didn’t only have a good game but he’s stood out this entire season. On the year, he leads the team in tackles (total, solo, and assisted) and sacks (5). He’s had some struggles in pass defense at times but Idowu has generally been really good.

Can the Panthers realistically challenge the Canes?

Pittsburgh is overmatched in every facet of football in this matchup. Miami has a vastly superior offense and defense, and Pittsburgh would have to play a perfect game just to make Miami sweat. Miami’s effectiveness running the ball of late is what really stands out to me. With that great defense, if you can control the clock you can beat almost any opponent. Pittsburgh allows opponents an average of 150 yards per game. Miami should be able to sufficiently control this game from beginning to end.

Miami is rolling and is looking forward to an ACC title matchup with Clemson that will decide their CFB Playoff hopes. While that plus a struggling Pitt team makes this game feel like a trap, there’s little to no chance that will occur. Miami is just too good, and is playing the best football of the season at the perfect time. This game should be over by about halftime, and it should be ugly for Pitt. Get ready for a lot of turnover chain sightings.

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