PITTSBURGH — Pitt’s disappointing 2017 season comes to a close at Noon Friday when the Panthers host No. 2 Miami (Fla.) at Heinz Field.
(Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)
Watch Pat Narduzzi’s media conference
The Hurricanes are the highest-ranked team Pitt has hosted at Heinz Field in 16 years. Coincidentally, that opponent was also Miami, ranked No. 1 in both polls when the teams met on Sept. 27, 2001. The Hurricanes won, 43-21, en route to an undefeated (12-0) national title year.
Pitt last played a team ranked this high just last season. The Panthers faced No. 3/2 Clemson in Death Valley on Nov. 12, 2016, handing the eventual national champion Tigers their only defeat, 43-42.
Clemson marked the highest-ranked foe Pitt had beaten since its 13-9 win at West Virginia on Dec. 1, 2007, costing WVU a BCS title game appearance.
The game will be televised on ABC, and it’s Senior Day for the Panthers with 14 seniors making their final appearance at Heinz Field, although of those 14 the starting lineup (24 positions with two specialists) lists only seven seniors, including two who are listed as co-starters.
A junior, tailback Darrin Hall, has been key to Pitt’s run game and has rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the Panthers’ past four contests. Hall is averaging 122.5 yards over this span, totaling 490 yards and eight touchdowns on 87 carries (5.6 avg.). He was severely limited, however, in the Panthers loss to Virginia Tech Saturday rushing for just four yards and being stopped three times for the 1-yard line in the final minute with Pitt trailing by six.
The bigger question is who will be at quarterback. Ben DiNucci started last week but was relieved by freshman Kenny Pickett. DiNucci was 4 of 8 passing for 54 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Pickett was 15 of 23 for 242 yards but threw a crucial interception in the fourth quarter with Pitt up one that led to Virginia Tech’s winning touchdown.
Narduzzi was non-committal early in the week as to who is starting quarterback was going to be.
“We will play it by ear,” Narduzzi said Monday. “See practice and go with (it) that way. I think if we don’t practice good, it’s hard to start a guy that doesn’t practice. There’s constant competition. I don’t care what the position is. You’ve seen a revolving door at the D-end position this year, from the beginning of the year if you look at the depth charts, at least our depth chart, maybe not yours. The ‘Or’s’, whatever it may be, it’s changed. I think it’s at every position. We’ve got to continue to compete, and competition makes people better. Ben had a heck of a day out there today, I can tell you that.”
Some of the decision may come down to how well the Panthers believe they can run the ball. One of the reasons Pickett took over against the Hokies last week was the Panthers inability to run and he is believed to be the better passer.
“Well, it’s match-ups,” Narduzzi said. “It’s how we feel we can run the football, the whole deal. It’s your run game versus your pass game, and we’ve got to get a run game going, period, and those are all things we’ll look at with practice, as well, what we do there.
No matter the quarterback, the Panthers will need to prioritize minimizing turnovers when facing the Hurricanes’ ball-hawking defense. Miami ranks No. 1 in the country in turnover margin, forcing 27 and surrendering just 11 (+16, 1.60 margin per game).
Offensively, the Hurricanes are led by quarterback Malik Rosier, who has thrown for 2,620 yards and 23 touchdowns while tossing just nine picks. Braxton Berrios has a team-high eight touchdown catches while grabbing 41 balls for 522 yards, and Travis Horner has run for 849 yards and seven touchdowns.
SERIES NOTES
This is the 37th meeting between Pitt and Miami in a series that dates back to 1950…it is the fifth Atlantic Coast Conference game between the two schools…the Panthers and Hurricanes meet annually as members of the ACC’s Coastal Division…Miami leads the all-time series, 25-10-1…the Panthers are 5-14 against the Hurricanes in Pittsburgh and 5-11-1 in games played on the road…Miami has won each of the last two meetings: 51-28 at Hard Rock Stadium last season and 29-24 at Heinz Field in 2015…in 2014, Pitt snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with a 35-23 triumph in Miami Gardens…it was Pitt’s first win over Miami since 1997 and the Panthers’ first road win in the series since 1963…in 1997, the Panthers defeated the No. 21 Hurricanes, 21-17, at Pitt Stadium in front of a Thursday night ESPN television audience…prior to the ’97 encounter, the Panthers had not defeated Miami since a 36-19 win in Pitt Stadium in 1976, the year Pitt stormed to a 12-0 record and the national title.
