Pittsburgh (3-2, 2-2 ACC) at No. 13 Miami (3-1, 2-1), Saturday at noon ET (ACC Network).
Line: Miami by 13 1/2.
Series record: Miami leads 27-11-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The Hurricanes are coming off a 42-17 loss to No. 1 Clemson, while the Panthers are trying to bounce back from consecutive one-point losses - 30-29 against North Carolina State, and 31-30 in overtime last week at Boston College. The Hurricanes’ path remains favorable, because they might be favored in all but one of their remaining seven regular season games - against North Carolina on Dec. 5. Miami has throttled the Panthers’ offense each of the past two years, winning 24-3 and 16-12.
KEY MATCHUP
Pitt senior QB Kenny Pickett vs. Miami’s front seven. Pickett has thrown for 1,389 yards and eight scores, but has briefly left each of the last two games after getting shaken up. Coach Pat Narduzzi said he has no definitive No. 2 QB - Davis Beville and Joey Yellen have both made cameo appearances this season. The Hurricanes have 11 sacks but managed just one against Trevor Lawrence and Clemson, when they allowed 550 yards total and 34 first downs.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Miami: QB D’Eriq King has thrown for 857 yards and six touchdowns while adding 241 rushing yards and two rushing scores. Against Clemson he went 12 for 28 and threw his first two interceptions of the season.
Pittsburgh: Senior DE Patrick Jones II leads the nation in sacks with 7.0 after collecting three in the loss to Boston College last week. Jones had a big game against the Hurricanes last season, picking up a pair of sacks and forcing a fumble.
FACTS & FIGURES6
The Hurricanes came from behind in the fourth quarter at Pitt to win last year. … The Panthers lead the ACC and are second in the nation in rush defense (52.0 yards per game). The Hurricanes are averaging 196.5 yards on the ground and are tenth in the country in yards per rush (5.5 per carry). … The Panthers’ last road victory over a top-15 ranked foe occurred on Nov. 12, 2016, when they handed No. 2 Clemson its only loss of the season en route to the national champion. … Miami’s Cam’Ron Harris was held to 3 yards in eight carries at Clemson, but he still averages 6.8 yards per carry.
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Please read our comment policy before commenting.