Pitt’s done gone and done it again.
On Dec. 1, 2007, a 4-7 Pitt team stunned second-ranked West Virginia in a 13-9 upset in Morgantown, costing the Mountaineers a spot in the BCS title game. Just a week shy of the 10th anniversary of that upset, 4-7 Pitt played host to second-ranked Miami -- and the Panthers did it again, jumping out to a 10-7 halftime lead before holding on away for a 24-14 win. The loss ends the Hurricanes’ nation’s-best winning streak at 16 games in a row.
Thanks in very large part to Pitt’s defense, Miami’s offense could muster next to nothing on the day, churning out just 176 yards of offense while the game was still within reach (they finished with 234). True freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett, however, seemingly put the game out of reach when, on a fourth-and-five, scampered nearly untouched on a naked bootleg for a 22-yard touchdown that made it a three-score game with just under three minutes remaining.
However, a U touchdown less a minute later made it a 10-point deficit with 2:16 left in the fourth, with the Hurricanes recovering an onsides kick on the ensuing kickoff to give them a flicker of hope; a Malik Rosier fumble on that next possession snuffed out said flicker.
This is actually the third time in a decade the Panthers have knocked off the No. 2 team in the country, including last year’s dumping of Clemson -- a fact that head coach Pat Narduzzi used in calling his shot to his team at halftime.
PAT NARDUZZI JUST CALLED HIS SHOT AND WALKED OFF pic.twitter.com/vJAr5fX23b
— Connor O'Gara (@cjogara) November 24, 2017
For The U, it’s a potentially crippling loss. Or, it could mean almost nothing.
Playing with fire for most of the season -- they trailed at the half in five of their 11 games, including today -- the Hurricanes finally got burned; whether it’s a first-, second- or third-degree burn remains to be seen. The good news for The U is they will still face No. 3 Clemson in the ACC championship game next weekend, with the winner likely (maybe) (possibly) earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. This loss, though, erases any margin of error the Hurricanes had heading into that game as they won’t make the playoffs as a two-loss at-large team.
