Pitt vs Miami Takeaways: Panthers Exit on a High Note
PITTSBURGH -- There was not much to complain about as the Pitt Panthers decimated Miami on their home turf and walked away with an eight-win season after winning 42-16 at Hard Rock Stadium.
One Panther capped a tremendous career while another played the first of what could be many great games and Pitt made their fair share of mistakes while Miami's were damning. Dive into all that in more with four takeaways from a beat down of the Hurricanes.
Miami Loses as Much as Pitt Wins
Miami committed three turnovers while rotating through three different quarterbacks. The two interceptions the Hurricanes opened the game with were miraculously poor decisions thrown where no one on their own team could even attempt to make a play on the ball. What's more, they committed eight penalties for 80 yards while another three for 45 more yards were offset by Pitt's own penalties.
Don't take any credit away from the Panthers, who were excellent for roughly 95% of that game and really all of the parts that truly mattered, but the Hurricanes did lots to give this game away. I'm not sure if there is a team in the FBS that could have walked into Hard Rock Stadium and not beaten this version of Miami, who looked unmotivated from the start.
These are the types of games that spark deep introspection on the health of a program from everyone watching, especially for one as prominent as Miami. Pitt was simply the one lucky enough to get to hand them such a regretful night.
Career Night for No. 5
Jared Wayne had himself the game of his life under the bright lights in South Beach. 11 catches, 199 yards and three touchdowns are all career-highs. He entered the game with two touchdown catches for the year, left with five and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career and just the 11th time in school history.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I'm just honored," Wayne said after the game.
He has been Kedon Slovis' security blanket for most of this season and he was the go-to man once again during this offense's best game of the season. It is a massive accomplishment for Wayne, a seasoned veteran that could stand to make a lot of money should he choose to leave Pitt for the NFL at the end of this, his senior year.
Trouble With The Snaps
If you're looking for anything to complain about after a win like that, you don't have to look far. Pitt had an oddly difficult time hanging on to the ball against the Hurricanes and it wasn't because of anything their opponents were doing. Four snaps skipped off the ground and the Panthers coughed up another three fumbles throughout the game.
They lost just one, and it came late in the fourth quarter with the game very much in hand, but it was the snaps that concerned Head coach Pat Narduzzi the most. He benched starting center Owen Drexel in the first quarter and moved guard Jake Kradel back in at center, where he filled in for Drexel while he was hurt earlier in the year, but it didn't yield much better results. Narduzzi said some wet conditions down low might have caused the mishaps.
"We've got to get him some depends because his butt was soaked," Narduzzi said.
Javon McIntyre Vaults into 2023 Picture
McIntyre bookended his first season of real action at the college level by contributing to a game-sealing, fourth-down stop in the Backyard Brawl during Week 1 and feeding the turnover storm that sunk Miami in Week 12. The sophomore McIntyre has quickly become a budding star in the secondary. His outstanding game against the Hurricanes provided a glimpse at who might replace Erick Hallett on the back end of the Panthers' defense.
McIntyre was all over the field in South Beach while playing the most he has all season. He recorded the first interception of his career and chipped in two tackles - one for loss - and two pass breakups in a breakout game. He said he played with "relentless effort", a trait he picked up from Hallett and his safety running-mate, Brandon Hill.
Panthers Improve November Numbers
Pitt has become somewhat of an expert at closing seasons out right. With this win over Miami, the Panthers improved to 4-0 in the month of November. They're 11-1 in the 11th month over the past three seasons and have now put themselves in a prime position to re-enter the final top-25 of the regular season.
Think about where this team was in October - .500, reeling from three losses in four weeks and teetering on the cusp of simple bowl eligibility. Narduzzi has pulled a satisfying season out of one that looked like it was headed for abject failure. His team has certainly gotten better as time's worn on and that is the mark of a good coach.
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