10 Takeaways from Miami's Win at Pitt
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
PITTSBURGH – There’s no denying the Hurricanes have dealt with their share of challenges this season, challenges that only seemed magnified over the course of the last week.
Miami arrived at Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon looking to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech a week earlier. And the Hurricanes knew they had to try and get things righted without two of their top playmakers and locker room leaders, running back DeeJay Dallas and linebacker Michael Pinckney, both of whom were sidelined by injuries.
That likely took a toll and when Miami lost its lead in the fourth quarter, some teams might have been willing to call it a day, especially on the road. But the Hurricanes found a way to power through.
Quarterback Jarren Williams entered the game in the fourth quarter and engineered a nine-play, 62-yard drive that culminated with a 32-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn with 58 seconds left that lifted the Hurricanes to a 16-12 win over the defending Coastal Division champion Panthers.
It was a win that coach Manny Diaz noted didn’t come easy – but one he believes happened in large part because the Hurricanes looked inward in the days after last week’s game against Georgia Tech.
“[Winning] is the best medicine there is. There’s no doubt about it. But what’s also happening is that the team is coming together. I mentioned some of the things we’ve gone through … but some of the adversity we’ve had in games, it tests your mettle,” Diaz said. “If you say you’re going to come in Year One and ‘We’re going to do this’ and you go through some of the things this team has gone through, you have two choices: either surrender or come closer together.
“To be very honest this week, something happened. And I’m not saying this fixes everything. … But the guys came together this week when they had the opportunity to just scatter. A lot of that goes to our leadership.”
Here, as the Hurricanes start to turn their focus to their annual rivalry game against Florida State, a look at what they can build on after beating Pitt:
1. Miami’s defense was a force
In last year’s regular-season finale against Pittsburgh, Miami’s defense was at its best, keeping the Panthers out of the end zone and holding them to just a field goal in a 24-3 Miami win.
The Hurricanes did another solid job this time around.
While Pittsburgh managed 322 yards, the Panthers couldn’t get in the end zone with Miami’s red zone defense forcing Pitt into two 29-yard field goals and a 25-yard field. That last 29-yard field goal came after the Panthers had managed to reach the Miami 1-yard line.
It wasn’t just in the red zone that the defense excelled.
Miami forced three turnovers which led to 10 points and Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett faced significant pressure throughout the afternoon.
Given that the defense had its share of struggles, particularly with missed tackles against Georgia Tech, Saturday’s performance against Pitt had to feel good.
“We felt like we had obviously been in a little bit of a barren patch with turnovers, but we also know that those things tend to come if you stay after it and stay resilient,” Diaz said. “I thought we did a good job in the first half of eliminating the run and harassing the quarterback into making mistakes. They came back in the second half with some different offensive things that we had not seen. … credit to our guys that [Pitt] drove down the field, including getting it to the 1-yard line, but we still refused to let them into our endzone and that gave us a chance to win.”
2. DJ Ivey bounced back
Cornerback DJ Ivey struggled in last week’s loss to Georgia Tech and the sophomore knew it.
He wound up making two of the defense’s biggest plays Saturday, picking off Pickett twice with the turnovers leading to a combined 10 points for the Hurricanes.
“I felt like I made up for last week, coming out and competing today. I gave it my all,” Ivey said. “After the [Georgia Tech] game, I took it hard. But I didn’t let it get to me. I just worked and worked and focused up. I just came to play ball.”
3. Greg Rousseau came up big – again
Redshirt freshman Greg Rousseau has emerged as one of Miami’s top young playmakers and the defensive end had another big performance Saturday.
Rousseau, a former standout at Champagnat Catholic in Hialeah, made life tough for Pickett, sacking the Pittsburgh quarterback three times, not an easy feat considering Pickett is known for his mobility. Rousseau also finished as the Hurricanes’ second-leading tackler with seven stops and notched a QB hurry, too.
“Just having a high motor. I knew [Pickett] was going to scramble a lot, so I had to have a high motor,” Rousseau said. “Just chasing him out of bounds or coming under and getting him, it was all about heart.”
As to the timing of his third sack – which came on Pitt’s final possession of the game – Rousseau smiled.
“That was fun,” he said. “That was fun. That was exciting. That was a big play. I was happy about that one.”
4. Lou Hedley remains impressive
Through eight games this season, punter Lou Hedley has been one of the Hurricanes’ most consistent performers and his punts have, more often than not, flipped the field for Miami.
That trend continued Saturday against Pittsburgh.
Hedley, who was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list this week, averaged 45.9 yards on his six punts, notching a long of 61 yards in the process. Four of his seven punts landed inside the Panthers’ 20-yard line. And on top of all of that, the Panthers managed just 1 yard on their three attempted punt returns.
5. Jarren Williams provided a much-needed spark
For the better part of the second half, the Hurricanes found themselves struggling to move the ball. After Miami went 0-for-3 on third-down conversions and had just 49 yards in the third quarter, Diaz and offensive coordinator Dan Enos tried a change at quarterback.
It worked well enough.
Redshirt freshman Jarren Williams, who started the first five games of the season, came into the game with 7:19 left and on his second possession, led Miami down the field for the game-winning touchdown.
On that drive, Williams connected with Osborn on a 4th-and-1 at midfield to keep the chains moving. Two plays later, with Miami facing a 3rd-and-2, Williams scrambled for a hard-fought eight yards that, again, kept the drive alive. Then came the go-ahead score, a 32-yard touchdown pass to Osborn that would ultimately prove the difference.
“We felt like we needed a spark. Obviously, we knew at that point that we were going to have to throw the football to have a chance to win this game,” Diaz said. “I don’t think that it was necessarily anything specific that N’Kosi [Perry] wasn’t doing, but we were just stuck in the mud throughout the entire third quarter. It was just time to give Jarren a shot and see if he could get something to spark and get something going.”
Added Williams, “I said, ‘Hey, you know, I’ve got to step up. Guys need me. The team needs me. This program needs me, so I’m going to give everybody everything I’ve got.’ That was all that was going through my mind. So I just went out there, encouraged my teammates. I believe in those guys, so, just really getting everybody going and we marched down the field.”
6. Cam’Ron Harris ran hard
Although Dallas traveled to Pittsburgh and went through some pre-game warmups, Miami’s leading rusher did not play Saturday.
That meant a heavy dose of sophomore running back Cam’Ron Harris, who stepped up and played well in Dallas’ absence.
Harris finished with a game-high 60 rushing yards and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the Hurricanes an early 10-3 lead.
Some of his other key runs included a third-down conversion, a play that moved the Hurricanes inside the 10 and an 8-yard carry on Miami’s final drive.
“We always felt like we had two really talented running backs. It’s tough sledding, running against that defense. That’s the way they are built and the way they are designed,” Diaz said. “What I loved about Cam’s running today was that there were no lost yardage plays. Sixty yards on 16 carries doesn’t seem amazing, but that’s what they were averaging giving up prior to this game, so it was a win. It’s better than what they were allowing. The way he stuck his head down and ran north to south [was big].”
7. Zach McCloud stepped up
Earlier this month, senior linebacker Zach McCloud came to his coaches with an unusual request.
After dealing with a series of injuries and not being able to prepare for the start of the season and being able to learn a new position the way he wanted, he felt it was in his best interest – and Miami’s best interest – if he redshirted this year.
Diaz and defensive coordinator Blake Baker agreed, with the caveat that if the Hurricanes needed him, McCloud would play.
With Pinckney out, the Hurricanes needed McCloud and the linebacker out of Santaluces High delivered, collecting five tackles. And his one pass breakup helped Ivey corral one of his two interceptions.
The hope is that McCloud, who has now played in four games this year, won’t see the field again until next fall, but when he returns, Diaz expects McCloud to be a “centerpiece” of the 2020 Hurricanes.
“What a guy to come in and what a day. For what he means to our football team, to make a play like the one where he tipped the ball that DJ in turn, intercepts it, what an awesome asset Zach McCloud is to our program,” Diaz said “Again, if we can sort of get him back on the shelf and have him be the centerpiece of our team next year, that’s something where everybody wins.”
Said McCloud, “Emotionally, it was a tough decision to make to not finish the season with the team, so when I got the chance today to be able to go out on the field and play my heart out for them, it was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life.”
8. The Hurricanes know there is still work to do
Saturday’s win was a needed boost for the Hurricanes and Miami’s players and coaches celebrated, as expected.
But, Diaz made it clear: one win – even on the road against a division opponent – isn’t a magic pill that will suddenly fix everything the Hurricanes have been working to improve on this season.
The offense had its share of struggles against Pitt’s stalwart defense, with Miami managing just 54 rushing yards and converting on only 2 of 13 third-down opportunities. And the team needed to make a late change at QB to find a spark.
With rival FSU looming on the schedule, the Hurricanes are sure to continue working to get better on several fronts, including on the offensive side of the ball.
“Again, we don’t pretend that all of our issues are solved. This came down to one play and as we know, we’ve lost games that have come down to one play,” Diaz said. “But the guys are starting to see the difference of how that – bringing us closer together – makes us harder to beat.”
9. Discipline was key
Penalties were a major issue for the Hurricanes early in the year, but in recent weeks, there’s been a shift and it showed again Saturday against Pittsburgh.
After being penalized 11 times against Virginia Tech, Miami was whistled just four times against Virginia, four times against Georgia Tech and a season-low three times against the Panthers.
That’s something Miami will continue to build on, especially given that the Canes play their biggest rival this week.
10. It’s officially FSU week
After both wins and losses, Diaz tries to make sure the Hurricanes abide by what they call their “24-hour rule,” meaning celebrations or disappointments can’t last long and can’t impact the next game.
It might be fair to say this week’s celebration may have been even shorter.
Before the Hurricanes left Heinz Field, they were already thinking – and talking – about the next opponent on the schedule: rival Florida State.
While both the Hurricanes and Seminoles have struggled at times this season and this year’s game won’t have the championship implications so many of past UM-FSU games have had, there’s no doubt the game matters significantly in both Coral Gables and Tallahassee.
Even newcomers to the program, like Buffalo transfer K.J. Osborn who had six catches for a game-high 94 yards, noted he understood prior to his arrival at Miami what the annual rivalry game means on the college football landscape.
“I’m excited. I’m so excited. I don’t know how else to say it,” said Osborn. “Deondre Francois, their old quarterback, that’s one of my best friends. … I’m familiar with them a little bit. It’ll be great to go in that atmosphere, in a rivalry game like that. It’ll be exciting.”
Added Diaz, “It’s Miami-Florida State. I don’t know what they’re doing today, but I know when the ‘Noles and the ‘Canes get together, it’s a big-time rivalry. It’s a big-time game. It’s a game I know they’ll get their guys excited to play. I know our guys will be excited to play.”
