Saturday, 1 a.m.
The University of Miami lost its first game of the season Friday afternoon. Maybe, it lost a lot more.
The Hurricanes, ranked second in the country, were upset by Pitt, 24-14 in a game that not only knocked them from the ranks of the unbeaten. Given the time of year and the tightness of the race, it might have knocked UM out of consideration for the college football playoff. UM has to hope it can upset Clemson in next week's ACC title game and squeeze back into the race.
The 'Canes gave America reason to doubt Friday. Freshman quarterback
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Pitt freshman Kenny Pickett, making his first career start, threw for 193 yards and ran for 60 more yards.
“We hadn't lost in a while,” Miami coach Mark Richt said. “Hadn't had to go into a locker room and do something besides cheer. The guys are hurt. I'm hurt.”
In the fourth quarter, Richt pulled quarterback Malik Rosier.
“Malik was strugging,” Richt said. “He was missing his target, I thought. We'll look at the film.”
UM had won several close games this year: FSU, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and North Carolina. But Pitt was only 4-7.
The Hurricanes struggled on offense for most of the afternoon, however. Rosier lost for the first time as a starter.
Now, UM finds itself in a chase behind Alabama with once-beaten Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma. Two-loss Auburn, Ohio State and Notre Dame will be considered.
Game time against Clemson next week is 8 p.m.
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