Pitt and Miami are facing off at Heinz Field. Here's the latest from the action.
FIRST QUARTER
Pitt's streak of losing the coin toss extended to eight games this season and the ninth overall as Miami won the toss on Saturday and opted to defer. The Panthers took the ball at their own 17 after a short return from Vincent Davis and quickly found themselves facing third-and-5, but Kenny Pickett converted with a 20-yard pass to V'Lique Carter. Pitt got another first down on a 19-yard swing pass from Pickett to Carter, but the drive stalled at the Miami 36 when a Pickett pass to Aaron Mathews was broken up on third down.
Alex Kessman got the call for his first action on the next snap, and he dropped a 54-yard kick over the cross bar to give Pitt the first lead of the game.
PITT 3, MIAMI 0 - 11:15, 1st quarter
Pitt's defense came into Saturday's game expected to have a favorable matchup, and the first drive looked like it. Miami got one first down from a personal foul penalty on Saleem Brightwell, but then the Panthers locked down and forced a punt.
Pitt's offense took the ball at its own 9 and got five yards on a first down run by A.J. Davis, but Pickett's pass on second down was tipped and then intercepted, giving Miami good field position for its second possession of the game.
The Hurricanes took the ball at the Pitt 35 and picked up one first down before getting another one from a defensive holding penalty on Damar Hamlin. But the Panthers stepped up with two pass breakups inside the 10, including one by Brightwell at the goal line, and Miami had to settle for a field goal to tie the game.
PITT 3, MIAMI 3 - 5:26, 1st quarter
Pitt's next drive had a false start - the Panthers' second in three possessions - but the offense chipped away, converting a pair of third downs to get into Miami territory. But on their third attempt at third down, Pickett threw to Taysir Mack, who caught the ball for a first down but fumbled as he went to the ground and Miami recovered.
Pitt's defense answered the call with the sudden-change situation, though, forcing a pair of incomplete passes for a three-and-out just before the quarter ended.
SECOND QUARTER
Pitt opened the second frame facing second-and-5 from its own 26, but Pickett's pass to Davis didn't gain anything, setting up a third-and-manageable. Miami brought pressure on the play, though, flushing Pickett out of the pocket before the Pitt quarterback tried a throw to Maurice Ffrench that was well off the mark - and went directly to a Miami defender for the second interception of the game.
The Hurricanes capitalized on this turnover, needing four plays to gain 17 yards for the game's first touchdown.
MIAMI 10, PITT 3 - 12:00, 2nd quarter
Pitt's drive to answer the touchdown looked like it would die as a three-and-out before Pickett scrambled for nine yards to convert third-and-9, but that only bought the Panthers one extra series, as Pickett's next third-down try - a pass to Ffrench - was tipped and fell incomplete.
Miami came out on the next drive looking to attack Pitt's perimeter with some passes to neutralize the Panthers' pass rush, and the first attempt, a swing pass to receiver Mike Harley, worked as it gained 13 yards. But Pitt's defense made solid tackles on the next two plays to set up third-and-1, and on that play, Phil Campbell stopped running back Cam'Ron Harris at the line of scrimmage to force a punt.
The Panthers started the next drive at their own 13 and opened the possession in the Wildcat. Todd Sibley took the direct snap on the play and found a hole on the left side for a 33-yard gain. Two snaps later, Pitt got another big gain when Pickett scrambled for 28 yards to move to the Miami 24.
A holding penalty cost Pitt 10 yards, but on second-and-21, Davis caught a screen pass and ran for 16 yards to set up a third down that was converted with a Pickett pass to Ffrench.
The Panthers then got inside the 10 but Pickett's third-and-6 pass from the 7 to Mack was off the mark, and Kessman had to finish the drive with his second field goal of the game.
MIAMI 10, PITT 6 - 2:39, 2nd quarter
Miami opened the next drive with its longest play of the game when N'Kosi Perry and K.J. Osborn hooked up for a 29-yard pass, but the Panthers' defense stepped up again and forced the Hurricanes to punt for the fourth time in the game.
Pitt got the ball back at its own 6 and managed to convert one first down before killing the clock to end the half.
MIAMI 10, PITT 6 - Haltime
The key in the first half was turnovers, as all 10 of Miami's points came after interceptions. The Panthers had seven possessions in the half: three ended in turnovers, two in field goals, one with a punt and one at the end of the half.
Pickett finished the half with 118 yards and two interceptions on 13-of-21 passing. He also had a net 28 yards on six rushing attempts and Pitt as a team rushed for 96 yards. The Panthers out-gained the Hurricanes 214-100 and allowed Miami to convert just one of its six third-down attempts. The Hurricanes did prevent Pitt from getting a sack in the first half, but Perry had just 77 yards while completing eight of his 16 pass attempts.
THIRD QUARTER
Miami got the ball to open the second half, but Pitt's defense was in control. The Panthers swarmed for an incomplete pass on first down, stopped a second down run for a one-yard gain and then, on third down, Perry's pass was off the mark and Pitt cornerback Damarri Mathis picked it off to give the Panthers good field position.
A facemask penalty on the interception return added another 15 yards and put Pitt at the Miami 17, but a sack on second down set up third-and-11. Pickett's pass to Ffrench on that play only picked up seven yards and Kessman had to kick his third field goal.
MIAMI 10, PITT 9 - 12:14, 3rd quarter
Pitt's defense carried its momentum to the next drive, stopping Harris for three yards on first down and then pressuring Perry on each of the next two downs. That culminated with third down when Patrick Jones smothered Perry for Pitt's first sack of the game.
After another Hurricanes punt, Pitt's offense started at its own 20. The Panthers moved the ball with a couple first downs, but a drop on second-and-7 from the 44 led to an incomplete pass on third down and another punt.
Pitt's defense came up with another forced punt, but the offense stumbled again after a trick play on its first snap lost four yards and the Panthers had to punt the ball back to Miami. The defensive battle continued on Miami's next possession when Jones got to Perry again for a strip sack on second down. The Hurricanes recovered the fumble but the play went for a 10-yard loss and Miami had to punt as time ran out on the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
Pitt had the ball as the fourth quarter opened and the Panthers did something they haven't done well all season: they ran the ball. Sibley picked up 13 yards out of the Wildcat; then Carter ran for 11 yards on two carries. Pickett converted a third-and-1 with a two-yard sneak and Sibley followed that with nine more yards on a Wildcat snap.
Sibley was injured when he lost one yard on a second-and-1 from the Miami 24, but Carter came in and ran for 18 yards to get inside the 10. Two plays later, Carter ran from the 6 to the 1, but A.J. Davis was stuffed on third-and-goal from the 1. With no intention of attempting the fourth down, Pitt took a delay of game penalty to set up a more makeable field goal for Kessman and a false start penalty added five more.
Kessman nailed the 29-yard kick and gave the Panthers the lead.
PITT 12, MIAMI 10 - 7:19, 4th quarter
Now playing with a lead, the Panthers' defense didn't let up. Miami replaced its quarterback, bringing Jarren Williams off the bench, but it didn't change the Hurricanes' fortunes. After a one-yard run on first down, Pitt forced an incomplete pass on second down that was almost an interception and then Paris Ford stuffed Miami receiver Mike Harley for a four-yard gain to force the Hurricanes to punt for a seventh time.
Pitt took the ball back with the goal of running time off the clock, which read 5:44 when the Panthers' next drive began. As such, they set out to run the ball, but it wasn't as effective as it had been on the previous possession: three A.J. Davis attempts gained a total of six yards and less than two minutes had run down.
The Hurricanes started their next drive at the 38 and found themselves facing fourth-and-1 from their own 47. On that play, Williams came up with a quick pass to Osborn, who picked up five yards for the first down.
Three plays later, Miami was at third-and-2 and Williams made a big play of his own, scrambling for eight yards to move the chains. Then, after a near-interception on first down at the Pitt 32, Williams and Osborn connected for a 32-yard pass that went to the end zone.
MIAMI 16, PITT 12 - 0:58, 4th quarter
That touchdown proved to be decisive, as Pitt's possession from the 25 gained a net of minus-5 yards over the course of four plays before giving the ball back to Miami to finish the fourth quarter.
With the loss, Pitt drops to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC. The Panthers will be on the road next week to face Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
