Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Freshman helps Pitt stun Miami
PITTSBURGH 24, NO. 2 MIAMI 14
PITTSBURGH — Miami spent the better part of 13 months putting together the nation’s longest winning streak behind a series of comebacks that returned the swagger to “The U” in all of its “Turnover Chain” glory.
Sluggish throughout the first half against Pittsburgh on Friday, the Hurricanes figured they’d come out for the third quarter, hit the gas and survive just the way they’ve done time and again during their rebirth under second- year Coach Mark Richt.
Not this time. Miami’s perfect season is over. The second-ranked Hurricanes can only hope their shot at a College Football Playoff berth isn’t gone too.
Freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Panthers pulled out a decisive 24-14 stunner that sent Miami reeling into next week’s ACC title game showdown with defending national champion Clemson.
“I still think there’s an awful lot to play for,” Richt said. “We have no idea what’s going to happen in the big picture. How many teams lost a game on a Friday and came back and got in the top four? How many teams lost one game and won a conference championship and got right back in it? Who knows? So we don’t know.”
A chance to put together the program’s first unbeaten regular season since 2002 vanished at chilly but hardly cold Heinz Field. Malik Rosier completed just 15 of 34 passes for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns and was briefly pulled in the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes (10-1, 7-1 ACC) managed just 232 yards, a season-low, and spotted Pitt a 10-7 halftime lead.
The Panthers put together a pair of long touchdown drives engineered by Pickett and the emphatic response from Miami never materialized.
“There’s multiple times where we play lackadaisical in the first half and in the second half we come out and explode and it just didn’t happen,” Rosier said. “That’s something I’ve got to fix. I’ve got to motivate those guys in the first half so the second half doesn’t have to be some type of miracle second half.”
Miami stressed it had learned an important lesson after spotting Virginia a two-touchdown lead last week before recovering to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 15 games. Yet the Hurricanes walked onto the Heinz Field turf in a weird spot.
The ACC Coastal Division champions are well aware their meeting with No. 3 Clemson next Saturday will serve as the ultimate arbiter on whether the Hurricanes are worthy of consideration for the College Football Playoff. The loss to Pittsburgh might not matter as long as they beat the defending national champions.
Time to put the theory to the test.
“We want to focus on Clemson and if we win and we get in, great,” Rosier said. “If we win and we don’t, that’s just something we have to live with. It was our play that got us to where we’re at.”
The Panthers may have finally found a quarterback in Pickett, whose 22-yard naked bootleg with 2:54 left gave the Panthers all the cushion they would need to beat a No. 2 team at home for the first time in program history.
“You don’t think your first start is going to come against the No. 2 team in the country and you upset them at home. It’s an unbelievable feeling and I’m real happy we got it done for the seniors,” Pickett said.
The last touchdown came on a fourth-and-6 at the Miami 22. Pickett pulled the ball away from running back Qadree Ollison and sprinted for the pylon. Only Pickett, Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson knew Pickett would run it. Everyone else had no clue.
“I was just going to get the first down and get down, but
Friday’s scores
EAST
Pittsburgh 24, No. 2 Miami 14 Buffalo 31, Ohio 24
SOUTH
No. 15 Central Florida 49, South Florida 42
Troy 62, Texas St. 9
W. Kentucky at Florida International, (n) Virginia Tech at Virginia, (n) MIDWEST
Toledo 37, W. Michigan 10
Cent. Michigan 31, N. Illinois 24 Iowa 56, Nebraska 14
SOUTHWEST
Houston 24, Navy 14
No. 12 TCU 45, Baylor 22 Missouri 48, Arkansas 45
Texas Tech at Texas (n)
FAR WEST
San Diego St. 35, New Mexico 10 California at UCLA, (n)
I turned the corner and when I looked, no one was there,” Pickett said.
A year ago, the Panthers handed Clemson its only loss of the season with a thrilling victory in Death Valley. A decade ago they stunned West Virginia in the regular season finale, a setback that cost the Mountaineers a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game.
Those two now have company, with Narduzzi saying as much during a brief sideline interview at the start of the second half. Then the Panthers went out and backed it up.
“I talked about the past and the big upset win at West Virginia,” Narduzzi said. “It happened in Clemson last year. I told the players it’s about time it happened in Pittsburgh.”
NO. 12 TCU 45, BAYLOR 22
FORT WORTH — Kenny Hill threw touchdowns to three different receivers and ran 3 yards for another score as No. 12 TCU clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game with a victory over Baylor.
The Horned Frogs ( 10- 2, 7- 2 Big 12) will play No. 4 Oklahoma for the Big 12 title on Dec. 2. That will come three weeks after TCU’s 38-20 loss to the Sooners.
Baylor (1-11, 1-8) jumped out to a 9-0 lead within the game’s first 2 minutes, including a safety when Hill was sacked and fumbled in the end zone. But TCU was ahead for good after Hill’s 7-yard TD pass to Jarrison Stewart made it 14-9 with 26 seconds left in the first quarter.
Defensive end Mat Boesen set a TCU single-game record by recording 5 of the eight sacks by the Horned Frogs.
Hill completed 26 of 36 passes for 325 yards, including TD passes to Desmon White and Jalen Reagor in the third quarter, a week after he didn’t travel to Texas Tech because of an apparent concussion.
Baylor true freshman quarterback Charlie Brewer was 19-of-29 passing for 301 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
NO. 15 CENTRAL FLORIDA 49, SOUTH FLORIDA 42
ORLANDO, Fla. — Mike Hughes’ 95yard kickoff return with 1:28 remaining was the difference as No. 15 Central Florida completed the first unbeaten regular season in program history with a wild victory over South Florida to clinch the American Athletic Conference’s East Division title.
The Knights (11-0, 8-0 AAC) will host Memphis in the conference title game on Dec. 2.
Hughes’ touchdown capped a crazy 53-second span where the Knights took an eight-point lead, South Florida tied it and then the Knights took the lead for good.
The Bulls (9-2, 6-2) tied it at 42 when Quinton Flowers connected with Darnel Salomon for an 83-yard touchdown, and then found D’Ernest Johnson for a 2-point play. Flowers finished with 605 yards of total offense.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hughes found an opening on the right side and scored.
South Florida drove to midfield late, but Mitchell Wilcox fumbled and it was recovered by Chequan Burkett.
McKenzie Milton was 29-of-44 for 373 yards and 4 touchdowns.