Miami Hurricanes Offense Stagnant in First Loss of Season
The Miami Hurricanes offense had trouble generating yards all day and suffered their first loss of the season 24-14 at Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes drop to 10-1 heading into next week’s ACC Championship game against Clemson.
There will be plenty of questions about who is to blame for the Miami Hurricanes first loss of the season. The majority of it should be aimed at the entirety of the offense. Malik Rosier was 15 of 34 for 187 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Miami had just 232 total yards and ran for just 45 yards on 23 carries.
Pittsburgh had 345 yards of offense. They won behind Freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett and running back Quadree Ellison. Pickett was 18 of 29 for 193 yards and a touchdown. He added 13 for 60 and two touchdowns on the ground. Ellison led the Panthers with 62 yards rushing on 14 carries.
There are a lot of things to pick apart in a tough loss. Punter Zach Feagles also struggled. The Freshman averaged just 36.7 yards per punt. A 13-yard shank just before halftime proved to be a huge turning point.
Instead of pinning the Panthers in their own Red Zone, Pittsburgh took over at their own 32. The Panthers drove 68-yards in 11 plays to score with 35 seconds left in the first half to take a 10-7 lead at the half.
The Hurricanes had a chance to stop the clock on the Panthers drive to give themselves time to drive for a late score. Mark Richt chose not to do so. Miami simply relied on being able to come back and win too many times this season. It finally caught up with them.
No one was truly productive on the Miami Hurricanes offense in the loss to Pittsburgh. Rosier added just 31 yards on 12 carries and Travis Homer ran for 12 yards on seven carries. Braxton Berrios had four receptions had four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
That touchdown came late from 39 yards from Rosier to close the score to 24-14. It provided Berrios with most of his yards on the day.
Field position, the lack of a running game and inability to get points from two turnovers were a huge part of the loss. The first Pittsburgh turnover came on a poor snap that was a fumble recovery by linebacker Michael Pinckney. Trailing 3-0, Miami took over at the Panthers 48. They went three and out and had to punt.
After another fumble recovery in the second quarter with a 7-3 lead, the Hurricanes took over at their own 48 went three and out and again had to punt. The Hurricanes have lived off of converting turnovers into points all season. It would come back to hurt them in the loss to Pittsburgh.
The star of the game for the Hurricanes was safety Sheldrick Redwine. He had 12 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break up. Linebacker Zach McCloud finished with ten tackles.
The star of the game for the Hurricanes was safety Sheldrick Redwine. He had 12 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break up. Linebacker Zach McCloud finished with ten tackles.
Miami now has to shake this off and play with more urgency from the opening kickoff. Clemson will be making its third straight appearance in the ACC Championship game and hoping to win the title for the third year in a row. They will not be phased by the big stage.
The loss prevents Miami from having any room for a loss next week. Had they defeated Pittsburgh the Hurricanes would have still had a chance to get into the College Football Playoff with a loss to the Tigers. Now they have to defeat Clemson and hope they get into the playoff.
Next: Can one loss Miami Hurricanes make College Football Playoff
Miami is going to have to come out with a sense of urgency next week. If they don’t they might go from a serious contender for the College Football Playoff to out of a New Year’s Six bowl game.