Heading up North to Pennsylvania to finish off their regular season, the No. 12 Miami Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC) steamrolled the No. 22 Pittsburgh Panthers (8-4, 6-2 ACC), winning 38-7.
After three scoreless drives to start the game, UM got the party started with a 29-yard field goal by Carter Davis to give Miami a 3-0 lead.
The drive showed what would be a large aspect of Miami’s gameplan with freshman phenom, Malachi Toney, tallying a catch, a rush and a pass attempt during the drive. In total, Toney would end with 13 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown, five rushes for 30 yards and a passing touchdown.
On the next drive, Pittsburgh responded to Miami’s score and then some. The Panthers drove down the field with a 75-yard drive, which featured a 40-yard completion to wide receiver and Miami-native, Cataurus Hicks. Pitt finished off the drive with quarterback Mason Heintschel throwing a 6-yard touchdown to tight end Justin Holmes, giving Pittsburgh a 7-3 lead over Miami.
The lead would not last long for the Panthers as the Hurricanes took it back on the next drive, and from there it was all ’Canes.
Set up with great field position after a 38-yard kick return from redshirt senior Keelan Marion, Miami only needed a few plays to get into the endzone. After starting the drive with a five-yard false start penalty, quarterback Carson Beck got Miami moving with four consecutive pass completions to get Miami on Pitt’s side of the field.
Freshman running back Girard Pringle Jr. then brought the Hurricanes into redzone territory with two solid rushing gains. Pringle had 82 rushing yards by the end of the game — continuing his hot streak of late.
The drive ended on the next play with Toney throwing to tight end Elija Lofton for a nine-yard touchdown. With the touchdown, Miami retook the lead, 10-7.
Pitt came close to keeping the scoring trend going as they went on a 50-yard drive, setting up a field goal. However, kicker Trey Butkowski missed the 43-yarder to the right, keeping score as is.
UM took advantage of the missed opportunity and kept up the attack. The ’Canes were in a great position after tight end Alex Bauman had a 23-yard reception bringing Miami close to the red zone going into the two-minute timeout. The Hurricanes then capitalized on the large gain with another big play, with Beck throwing a 22-yard touchdown to an uncovered Toney, bringing the lead to 17-7.
Pittsburgh’s final drive before the half ended up with no points, but it was a prime example of a large aspect of their poor performance against Miami: penalties.
In that drive the Panthers had two penalties for 20 yards, one of which was an offensive pass inference. In total, Pittsburgh had nine penalties for 88 yards.
And to start the second half, Pitt continued to commit costly penalties which benefited the ’Canes.
On two occasions in the opening drive, Pitt defenders were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The first on defensive back Tamon Lynum brought Miami into the Pittsburgh redzone, and the second ruined a great third and long stop for the Panthers. Pitt defensive back Shadarian Harrison, who broke up the pass that gave them the stop in the first place, gave Miami a fresh set of downs after getting in Keelan Marion’s face after the pass break-up.
The Hurricanes capitalized on the discipline breakdown with running back Mark Fletcher plunging it in for a touchdown, and rode the momentum on their following drive.
After just a few plays which included Pringle ripping his longest run of the season for 38 yards, the Hurricanes were once again in scoring position. A nine-yard pass to running back CharMar “Marty” Brown extended the Miami lead 31-7, forcing Pitt into desperation mode to keep its season alive.
And with Pittsburgh in desperation mode, the Miami defense smelled blood when the Panthers decided to go for a crucial fourth and three. The Hurricanes got the stop with defensive back Xavier Lucas forcing a fumble that went out of bounds for a Pitt turnover on downs.
The final score of the game would come in the form of a 33-yard pass from Beck to wide receiver CJ Daniels, who hauled a circus catch for a touchdown to give the Hurricanes a 38-7 lead.
The final nail in the coffin for Pittsburgh came in the lone play of their final drive with Heintschel throwing an interception to freshman defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald. UM then finished it off in victory formation, kneeling the ball for a 38-7 ’Canes victory.
After the win, the Hurricanes end the regular season with a 10-2 record while 6-2 in conference play. With Virginia and Duke facing off in the ACC championship, Miami can only wait and see if the CFP committee will give them an at-large bid into the playoffs.
