Miami downs Pitt by 21

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Pitt is in Miami to face the Hurricanes today, and here's the latest from the game.

FIRST QUARTER
Pitt won the coin toss and deferred, putting Miami on offense first, but it was the Panthers who took control early as Rashad Weaver and Seun Idowu broke up passes on first and second down. N'Kosi Perry's third-down pass was incomplete and the Hurricanes had to punt.

It looked like Pitt's offense would capitalize on the three-and-out when Maurice Ffrench went 31 yards on a sweep on the first play of the drive, but the next three plays gained a net of minus-three yards and Pitt had to punt.

On the punt, Phil Campbell bumped into Miami returner DeeJay Dallas during his fair catch, giving the Hurricanes an extra 15 yards. And on the first play of the drive, Jason Pinnock took a pass interference penalty to add another 15. So when Miami running back Travis Homer broke a tackle and went 47 yards down the sideline, it put the Hurricanes in scoring position.

But Perry missed a trio of pass attempts from the 20 and Miami had to settle for a field goal as the first points of the game.

MIAMI 3, PITT 0 (10:17, 1st quarter)

After Miami's field goal, the two teams traded punts before Pitt marched across midfield for the second time, moving the ball with a pair of passes from Kenny Pickett to Taysir Mack that picked up 30 yards. But on second-and-9 from the Miami 47, Darrin Hall fumbled and the Hurricanes recovered.

The home team couldn't do anything with the ball though, getting one first down on an 11-yard pass before punting again.

As time ran down in the first quarter, Pitt took the ball at its own 5 and seemed to be headed for another punt until Pickett hung in the pocket on third-and-5 for an impressive 12-yard pass to Rafael Araujo-Lopes, picking up a first down before the quarter expired.

SECOND QUARTER
Pitt followed the pass to Araujo-Lopes with a solid six-yard run by Hall, but Pickett was sacked on second-and-4 and couldn't overcome the third-and-13 that followed, leading to Kirk Christodoulou's third punt of the game.

DeeJay Dallas caught the punt at the Pitt 35 and found his way through the blocks for a 65-yard punt return. Dallas appeared to call for a fair catch, but the officials did not acknowledge a signal. Nor did the officials rule a high hit by a Miami blocker as targeting, and the return stood.

MIAMI 10, PITT 0 (9:08, 2nd quarter)

Pitt's next drive was marred by self-inflicted issues. On the kickoff, which went for a touchback, Deslin Alexandre took an unnecessary roughness penalty. Then, after an incomplete pass on first down from the 13, the Panthers lost more yardage on a false start by Alex Bookser and a delay of game penalty.

Hall lost a yard on second-and-19 from the 4, and while Pickett's pass to Ffrench on third down gained 12, it wasn't enough to avoid another punt.

Pitt's defense kept doing its job, though, forcing Miami to punt on the next possession, but the offense couldn't do anything. After Miami punted, Pitt took an illegal block penalty on the return and then went three-and-out from deep in its own territory. The defense gave the Panthers life when, on the first play of Miami's ensuing possession, Rashad Weaver stripped Homer and Damar Hamlin recovered the fumble.

The Panthers took over at the Pitt 44 and quickly moved across midfield when Pickett hit Qadree Ollison for 16 yards on a wheel route. But things fell apart when a reverse by Mack on second-and-7 was blown up in the backfield for an eight-yard loss and Pitt had to punt one more time before the half ended.

Pitt out-gained Miami 115-101 in the first half but the Panthers cost themselves 70 yards on seven penalties, while the Hurricanes drew no flags through the first two quarters.

MIAMI 10, PITT 0 (Halftime)

Pitt took the ball to open the first half and promptly took another penalty with a holding call on Ffrench. But Pickett turned that around with an 18-yard pass to Araujo-Lopes that converted second-and-16. A sack on the following series and then another delay of game penalty - Pitt's second of the game - led the Panthers to another punt.

The defense kept playing well, though, forcing Miami into a three-and-out on the Hurricanes' first drive of the second half.

As the third quarter continued, the defenses continued to be in control. Pitt went three-and-out again and so did Miami, but the Hurricanes' seventh punt of the game gave the Panthers their second-best starting position of the game at their own 41. Aided by two Miami penalties - the home team's first flags of the game - Pitt got close to the red zone but stalled once again and settled for a 40-yard field goal from Alex Kessman.

MIAMI 10, PITT 3 (3:27, 3rd quarter)

After Pitt's first points of the game, Miami answered. Perry and Homer connected for an 11-yard pass on first down, and then the junior running back broke multiple tackles on his way to a 64-yard touchdown run for the game's first offensive touchdown.

MIAMI 17, PITT 3 (2:49, 3rd quarter)

Pitt didn't have an answer for Miami's touchdown. Despite a nice run by Hall on second down, Pickett's third-down screen pass to the senior running back was blown up by Miami's athletic defense and the Panthers punted for the tenth time.

Once again, though, the defense came up with a big play. On second-and-7 from the Pitt 45, Miami handed the ball to Cam;Ron Davis; as Davis was being tackled by Elias Reynolds, Elijah Zeise stripped the ball and Shane Roy recovered it.

As time ticked away in the third quarter, though, Pitt's offense was slipping again after a nine-yard sack set up third-and-16 from the Pitt 39.

FOURTH QUARTER
The final frame didn't start any better than the previous one had ended, as Pickett was sacked for another four-yard loss. And on Miami's first play after Pitt's punt, Perry found a big hole in the middle of the field and scrambled for 41 yards. The defense forced the Hurricanes into a fourth-and-2 at the Pitt 32, but DeeJay Dallas, who scored earlier on a punt return, took a direct snap out of the Wildcat and ran 29 yards.

Two plays later, he was in the end zone for his second score of the day.

MIAMI 24, PITT 3 (10:58, 4th quarter)

Pitt went to a hurry-up offense to try to get points in a hurry, and Araujo-Lopes turned in Pitt's best offensive play of the day when he took a screen pass 42 yards. But that was the end of Pitt's success on the drive, as Ffrench was unable to get three yards to convert fourth-and-3 from the Miami 30.

The Hurricanes put away any hopes of a comeback when Homer busted a 37-yard run two plays into the drive, and while they were ultimately stopped on fourth-and-1 from the 18, the damage was done. Pitt responded by bringing in the backups: quarterback Jeff George, Jr., running back Todd Sibley and the second-team offensive line.

Pitt finished the game with an even 200 yards on offense and no touchdowns - the first time in more than six years that the Panthers have failed to score a touchdown in a game. The Panthers gave up 293 rushing yards in the loss, the most they have allowed this season to any team other than Georgia Tech.

The loss drops Pitt to 7-5 on the season and 6-2 in the ACC. The Panthers will face Clemson next Saturday in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.

MIAMI 24, PITT 3 (Final)