Miami and Pitt each face a must-win situation to keep their respective College Football Playoff and Atlantic Coast Conference championship hopes alive when they clash on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
The No. 22 Panthers (8-3, 6-1 ACC) returned to the CFP rankings this week following their 42-28 victory last Saturday at Georgia Tech.
Pitt needs to beat Miami and hope either No. 18 Virginia loses to Virginia Tech or No. 21 SMU loses at California to clinch a spot in the ACC championship game. Being a 3-loss team, the Panthers’ only obvious path into the CFP is by winning the conference title.
The 12th-ranked Hurricanes (9-2, 5-2) need more help to make it to the conference title game as it involves Miami beating Pitt and two of three teams (SMU, Virginia and Duke) losing. A Miami win paired with Duke and Virginia losses would set up a Miami-SMU matchup for the ACC title.
Unlike Pitt, though, the Hurricanes have a slim chance of being selected as an at-large to the CFP even if they do not win the ACC or play for the title.
“It’s all about us,” said Miami safety Zechariah Poyser. “We’ve got to control what we can control. We can’t look ahead. We’ve got to dominate today.”
Pitt has persevered despite numerous injuries and bounced back after a lopsided 37-15 loss to Notre Dame on Nov. 15. Pitt had 12 players out against Georgia Tech and still found a way to come up with one of its biggest wins of the season.
Ja’Kyrian Turner led the Panthers with 201 rushing yards and a touchdown as they jumped out to a 28-0 first-half lead before needing to hold off a Yellow Jackets comeback late in the fourth. Pitt’s defense was clutch with a pair of interceptions of Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King, who had thrown only two prior to Saturday’s game.
“Not a surprising win even though a lot of people said that. We have a good football team here at Pittsburgh,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. ” … We talk about toughness. Our guys maximized that, as we needed to and as we have in the past.”
Since Miami’s loss at SMU on Nov. 1, it has also been resilient and playing much better. In wins over Syracuse, NC State and Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes have outscored their opponents 113-34.
Miami was in danger of letting a 27-10 lead slip away last week against the Hokies, but found a way to nail down its victory when Poyser recovered a fumble forced by Akheem Mesidor on a strip sack.
Quarterback Carson Beck has completed 66 for 83 passes for 858 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions during the Hurricanes’ three-game win streak.
On the injury front, there’s a chance the Hurricanes have key players return this week as Miami coach Mario Cristobal indicated defensive tackle David Blay Jr., who has missed the past two games, and cornerback OJ Frederique Jr., who has missed the past four, might be available. Miami also seems to have caught a break regarding standout safety Jakobe Thomas, who is expected to play after injuring his arm in last week’s win at Virginia Tech.
It’s unclear whether any key players could return this week for Pitt. That includes starting kicker Trey Butkowski, with Narduzzi saying he has no timeline to return. Sam Carpenter made all six of his extra points against Georgia Tech, but he missed his lone field goal try. Butkowski has converted 19 of his 21 field-goal attempts.
