The Pitt Panthers travel to the Sun shine State to face-off with the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. The gridiron match-up begins on Saturday, November 5th at 12:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ACC Extra. The Hurricanes are a slight -3 point favorite and the games total sits it 57.5.
The two schools met last year in Ohio, and the Hurricanes took home a 29-24 victory. It was the fourth win in five games for Miami, as the Hurricanes held on after shooting out to a twenty point lead by halftime.
The Pitt Panthers can get to six wins and be bowl eligible with a victory this weekend. The Miami Hurricanes are really feeling the pressure to perform after dropping their last three games.
Pitt (5-3):
Believe it or not. the Virginia Tech Hokies beat the Pitt Panthers 39-36 on the road for the first time in 17 years. The Pitt secondary continued to struggle, allowing a banged-up Jerod Evans to throw for over 400 yards and two scores.
Even though the defense is underachieving, the Panthers offense is certainly putting up enough points to get the job done (38.1 ppg). Quarterback Nathan Peterman leads a run-first attack for the Pitt Panthers. Nevertheless, his quarterback numbers are respectable. Peterman has tossed for over 1,500 on 113 completions with 12 touchdowns and only three picks.
Running back James Connor continues to build on his come-back resume’. The feisty player has rambled for 672 yards on 143 carries. Connor has also found the end zone for a team-high 10 scores.
Nathan Peterman spreads the ball around in the passing game, and does his best to get every position involved. Wide receiver Jester Weah has caught 23 balls for almost 450 yards and five touchdowns.
Tight end Scott Orndorf has reeled in 19 grabs for 324 yards and two more scores. Finally, running back James Connor has nabbed another 15 balls for just under 200 yards and two more trips to pay-dirt.
As mentioned above, the Pitt defense has a hard time defending the pass. In 2016, the Panthers rank 126th in the nation, surrendering 312 yards a game. Contrarily, their defense has been outstanding against the run. Pitt ranks fifth in the nation, succumbing to only 103.2 yards a contest.
Miami (4-4):
It’s one foot forward and two steps back, in coach Mark Richt’s debut season. Unfortunately, the area that needs the most improvement is the Hurricane’s offense line. Over the last two weeks, they have giving up eight sacks to Virginia Tech and followed that up with another poor five sack performance against Notre Dame.
Quarterback Brad Kaaya has been under pressure since the 2016 season began. Still, pro scouts like what they see out of Miami’s rifleman. This year, he has collected just under 2,000 yards of passing on 147 completions. The senior has also tossed 13 touchdowns and served-up six interceptions.
Running Backs Mark Walton and Joseph Yearby continue to drive the Hurricanes ground game. As a duo, the two talented tail backs have rushed for over 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns. Walton leads the pair, with just under 650 yards and nine scores.
Wide receiver Stacey Coley continues to distance himself from the other wide outs in the Hurricane’s offense. So far, he has reeled team-highs in catches (36) and touchdowns (6). Three other pass catchers have pitched-in for another 1,100 yards and five scores.
Miami’s strength is it’s defense. The Hurricane’s unit ranks inside the top 50 in every major defensive category including 25th in the nation in total yards. Most importantly, Miami is stingy when it comes to points in the red zone. The Hurricanes sit 17th in the country, allowing only 18.9 points a game.
Trends and Notes:
The Panthers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
The Hurricanes are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
The Over is 7-0 in the Panthers last 7 games overall.
The Under is 5-2 in the Hurricanes last 7 vs. a team with a winning record.
The Road team is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 meetings.
Game Prediction:
The Pitt Panthers defensive line is salivating at the chance to go up against quite possibly the worst O-line in the ACC. That’s bad news for quarterback Brad Kaaya. Furthermore, a win makes the scrappy Panthers bowl eligible.
Miami is on a three game skid and if they don’t apply the breaks now, they’ll miss out on a bowl game in coach Mark Richt’s first year. The Canes’ have to be more disciplined on both sides of the ball. Once again, they collected 10 penalties 80 plus yards against Notre Dame. Most of those, either stopped successful drives or continued drives for the Irish.
Las Vegas had this games total at 59.5. The betting public has drove that number down to 57.5 before the start of this contest. Since a 28-7 win over FCS Villanova, Pitt’s overs have rolled in to the tune of six straight.
Miami’s offensive line will play just good enough for Brad Kaaya to rip the Panthers with some big plays down field to wide out Stacey Coley. Pittsburgh’s balanced attack will keep a solid Hurricane defense on it’s heels and Miami wont shake their discipline issues over night. Take another Panther over at 57.5 in this one.
