PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – An opportunity to still play for an ACC Championship, between Pitt mistakes and Miami play on the lines, the Hurricanes ran away with it in the second half for a 38-7 win at Acrisure Stadium.
Miami came into Saturday with the number one pass defense, rush defense and obviously total defense along with fewest points scored against in the ACC. They only showed that off against a Pitt team coming off 42 points at Georgia Tech last week.
In Atlanta last week freshman Ja’Kyrian Turner rushed for 201 yards. As a team, Pitt rushed for 30 yards on 21 carries. Mason Heintschel was 22-32, 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Panthers defense allowed 416 yards falling to 8-4 overall, 6-2 in the ACC and ending hopes of a conference championship game.
How it went down 1st half
Pitt defensive lineman Ghost Neal sacked Carson Beck to stop the first drive, but Miami drove down the field helped by a couple of defensive penalties and opened with a 29-yard Carter Davis field goal.
Pitt took the ensuing drive 75 yards in 13 plays including a 13-yard run by Julez Goff on 3rd and 9 and a 40-yard completion from Heintschel to Blue Hicks, where the receiver made a nice adjustment for a diving stop. The play after Heinstchel recovered his own fumble for a five-yard loss, Heintschel found tight end Justin Holmes in the flat for a six-yard touchdown as Pitt took the lead 7-3.
Miami drove 56 yards on seven plays including a one-handed, 19-yard catch by Malachi Toney and ended in a Wildcat touchdown pass from Toney to tight end Elija Lofton of nine yards for a 10-7 Hurricanes lead.
A Trey Butkowski 43-yard miss on the next series and the Canes went 75 yards on nine plays as Beck hit Toney wide open from 22 yards for a 17-7 lead at half. Miami’s defense sacked Mason Heintschel four times and held Pitt to 11 rushing yards, 16 of those on a run on 3rd and 37. In the first half alone, Toney had six receptions for 76 yards and the TD pass.
How it went down 2nd half
Panthers again hurt themselves with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Tamon Lynum that cost Pitt 15 yards and after a third-down stop, Shad Harrison called for taunting to give Miami a first down at the Panthers seven-yard line. Mark Fletcher would run in from four yards and next possession Beck hit Marty Brown for nine yards to make it 31-7 in the third quarter. Beck would add a final touchdown on a 33-yard pass with 41 seconds left.
Bowl case
Panthers finished the season 8-4 overall, 6-2 in the ACC with a pair of ranked, road wins (Florida State, Georgia Tech). They have a pair of the best freshmen in the conference-Heintschel and Turner, along with one of the better defenses including All-American linebacker Kyle Louis. The most recent bowl games—GameAbove Sports (Detroit), Sun (El Paso), Peach (Atlanta), Quick Lane (Detroit), Sun (El Paso), Pinstripe (New York), Military (Annapolis).