Four Stats That Illustrate Pitt's Defensive Dominance over Miami
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PITTSBURGH -- 42-16 might tell you all you needed to know - the Pitt Panthers dominated Miami in the season finale. They were the better team from start to finish and whatever the Hurricanes gained was typically the result of something Pitt gave them.
But when a team plays this well and wins by this large of a margin, understanding the true extent of such a beatdown can be hard to do in real-time. Take a step back and relive the Panthers' 26-point demolition of Miami on their senior night with four statistics that tell the story of a landmark night in South Florida.
Pitt TFLs: 11, Maimi Plays of 10+ Yards: 9
The Panthers spent more time in the backfield than the Hurricanes spent on the other side of the first down marker and it took a team effort. Seven different Pitt defenders recorded a tackle for loss, with Dayon Hayes leading the way by making 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. Tylar Wiltz and SirVocea Dennis had 1.5 each as well.
One of the Panthers' first knocked Maimi starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke out of the game and it continued to be a game from hell for their signal-callers all night. Jaccuri Brown also had to exit the game early after taking a nasty hit to his shoulder in the second half.
This all came while Pitt's two star pass rushers - Habakkuk Baldonado and Calijah Kancey - were watching from home in Pittsburgh with injuries.
Miami Turnovers: 5, Miami Punts: 4
Pitt's defense didn't even show enough mercy to let the Hurricanes give the ball back to the Panthers on their own terms.
Not a lick of field position was surrendered as interceptions halted the first two Miami drives of the game. A fumble on the first play of the Hurricanes' fifth possession of the game killed another drive. Then in the second half, Pitt wrestled the ball away by forcing stops on fourth down. One came on a fake punt run that came up cruelly short of a first down deep in Panther territory.
These were not normal stops, but demoralizing ones that made it feel like the football gods had cursed Miami to the Sisyphean fate of running back onto the field when a disastrous result was always inevitable.
One Play Accounted for 52% of Miami's Rushing Yards
A 56-yard rush by Miami tailback Jaylen Knighton did a lot of heavy lifting for the rushing attack, which managed just 106 yards all night.
Knighton's mad dash came in the third quarter after Brandon Hill slipped while in a good position to make the stop just beyond the first down marker. In a sense, everything Miami had go their way was the result of a Pitt mishap. It underscored the futility of what the Hurricanes were doing and how much the Panthers are capable of getting in their own way.
Miami Average Yards To Go on 3rd Down: 10.1
On average, the Hurricanes would have been better suited spiking the ball into the dirt on first and second down before having to face one of their 12 third downs. They would have actually been closer to the sticks if that was the case.
Instead, Miami found itself way behind schedule on these essential downs, which they converted into first downs at a 25% rate. The Panthers had free reign to pin their ears back and make life hell for the Hurricanes' rotating cast of quarterbacks.
Miami didn't convert on their one third and short nor did they on any of their five fourth and longs, meaning they couldn't overpower Pitt at the line of scrimmage or beat them through the air. It begs the question - what could Miami do last night?
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