Pitt is in Coral Gables to face No. 13 Miami. Here's the latest from the game.
FIRST QUARTER
Miami won the coin toss and opted to defer, giving Pitt the ball to open the game and the offense came out with Joey Yellen to make his first career start for the Panthers. Yellen made a few solid throws on the drive and moved the offense inside the Miami 35, but a 12-yard sack on first down from the UM 31 and two incomplete passes led to a punt.
Pitt's defense got the ball right back, though. After Miami picked up one first down, the Panthers stuffed the Hurricanes and forced another punt. The offense didn't get good field position out of the punt, as the ball was downed at the Pitt 21, and the Panthers went three-and-out.
Kirk Christodoulou's next punt was a nice one, but the Hurricanes got an extra 15 yards on the play when Shocky Jacques-Louis was called for kick catch interference. Miami cashed in on the gift, too, as D'Eriq King ran play-action and floated a pass to his running back, Cam'Ron Harris.
Harris made the catch and ran in from 35 yards out for the game's first touchdown.
MIAMI 7, PITT 0 - 5:48, 1st quarter
Pitt took a different direction on the next drive, as Pat Narduzzi and Mark Whipple decided to replace Yellen with redshirt freshman Davis Beville. The Panthers got a first down on two strong runs from A.J. Davis, but Davis and Jake Kradel were flagged for a chop block on the ensuing first down play and Pitt had to punt three plays later.
Pitt's defense answered the call, though. After Christodoulou pinned Miami's offense at its own 11, the Hurricanes went three-and-out for another punt. Yellen returned to lead Pitt's offense, but the Panthers went backward with penalties on back-to-back plays - a false start and a delay of game - and the final play of the first quarter was Pitt's fourth punt of the game.
SECOND QUARTER
Aggressive defense and conservative offense continued to be the themes of the day as the second quarter started. Miami had the ball to open the quarter, but the Hurricanes played it safe and couldn't cross midfield, despite a pass interference penalty on Damar Hamlin.
The Yellen-led Pitt offense couldn't get anything going, even when Miami gave the Panthers 15 yards on a roughing call and then helped Pitt convert fourth down by jumping offsides on a punt. The Panthers got as far as their own 42 before facing fourth-and-10, but at that point, Narduzzi got aggressive and called for a fake punt.
The direct snap went to safety Brandon Hill, and Hill had a shot at turning the corner for the conversion, but a missed block allowed Miami to make the tackle and get the ball back at the Pitt 45.
From there, King and the Hurricanes chipped away at Pitt's defense. With only one play of more than 10 yards, Miami moved inside the 5 with a clear eye on the end zone. The Panthers stood up, though, and had the Hurricanes stuffed when they sacked King on third-and-goal from the 8. But defensive tackle Tyler Bentley grabbed King's facemask on the play, giving the Hurricanes a free first down that turned into a touchdown two plays later when King threw to tight end Will Mallory for a six-yard score.
MIAMI 14, PITT 0 - 6:44, 2nd quarter
Pitt's offense found some success for the first time since the start of the game on the next possession. After a Wildcat snap for Vincent Davis on first down, Yellen got some momentum. He threw to Jordan Addison for a pair of first down pickups and then moved deeper into Miami territory on a 23-yard pass to Daniel Moraga.
Miami helped Pitt's cause with a roughing the passer penalty, but the Panthers couldn't take advantage. On third-and-3, the Hurricanes dropped Yellen for a 10-yard sack, leading to a 33-yard field goal by Alex Kessman.
MIAMI 14, PITT 3 - 2:43, 2nd quarter
Pitt got its first big play of the game on the next possession. Miami picked up a first down after the kickoff, but on second-and-10 from the Pitt 41, Deslin Alexandre tipped a King pass at the line of scrimmage and Paris Ford grabbed the wobbly throw for his third interception of the season.
The turnover gave the Panthers the ball at the Miami 12, and two passes from Yellen to A.J. Davis set up third-and-1 from the 3. But a shotgun handoff to Davis on that play lost three yards, and Kessman came out for his second field goal to cut the deficit to eight points at halftime.
MIAMI 14, PITT 6 - 0:08, 2nd quarter
THIRD QUARTER
Miami got the ball to open the second half and started strong with a King scramble for a first down. But Pitt's defense seemed like it had made a stop with an incomplete pass on the next third down; instead, the Hurricanes moved the chains when Erick Hallett was called for defensive holding on the play.
Two snaps later, King found a coverage bust in Pitt's secondary and threw to Mike Harley, who was wide open for an easy 38-yard touchdown.
MIAMI 21, PITT 6 - 13:13, 3rd quarter
For its first drive of the second half, Pitt came out with Yellen and found some success. Vincent Davis picked up eight yards on the first play of the possession; then, on second-and-2, Yellen hooked up with Addison for a 55-yard catch-and-run. That put the ball at the Miami 12, but things stalled. Yellen threw incomplete under pressure on first down and then D.J. Turner lost five yards on a failed sweep. Yellen's third-and-15 pass was incomplete, and Kessman had to salvage the drive with this third field goal attempt of the game.
The 36-yard attempt was good, and the Panthers cut the lead to 12.
MIAMI 21, PITT 9 - 11:20, 3rd quarter
Pitt's offense needed all the help it could get in this game, and the defense gave it on the next drive. After extending Miami's possession with an offsides penalty on third-and-15, the Panthers struck with a big play as Marquis Williams picked off King for the second interception of the game.
Williams returned the pick to the Miami 1, and on first-and-goal, Yellen ran play-action and threw to Moraga for an easy score.
MIAMI 21, PITT 16 - 9:20, 3rd quarter
Pitt's defense gave the ball right back to the offense with a three-and-out, but the Panthers couldn't capitalize. They picked up one first down, but on third-and-2 from the Pitt 43, Yellen fumbled during a sack and Miami recovered.
King was dropped for a sack on the first play of the next drive, but on second-and-17, he ran the same fake that scored the Hurricanes' first touchdown and floated a pass down the middle of the field to the tight end, Will Mallory, who had no one between him and the end zone.
MIAMI 28, PITT 16 - 5:40, 3rd quarter
Pitt put together another strong drive after the Miami touchdown as Yellen made four nice completions to get into the red zone, but the possession stalled at the 12, and the Panthers had to settle for another Kessman field goal.
MIAMI 28, PITT 19 - 0:31, 3rd quarter
FOURTH QUARTER
Miami opened the final frame with the ball, but the Hurricanes couldn't get anything going. After an incomplete pass on second down to start the quarter, King was sacked on third down to lead to another punt.
The strong defensive showing went unrewarded, though, as Yellen threw incomplete three times on the next possession to bring out Christodoulou for his first punt since the first quarter.
That pattern continued through the middle of the fourth quarter, as Miami and Pitt traded punts on their next possessions. The Hurricanes finally got something going and drove into Pitt territory, but even then, the Panthers' defense stepped up for another stop and Miami had to settle for its first field goal of the game.
MIAMI 31, PITT 19 - 4:13, 4th quarter
Pitt had one more shot at getting back into the game while down by 14 and picked up a first down on a great catch by Addison, but Yellen's next four passes fell incomplete, and the Panthers turned the ball over on downs.
From there, Miami ran out the clock, handing Pitt its third loss in a row to drop the Panthers' record to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the ACC.
MIAMI 31, PITT 19 - Final