Pittsburgh Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2017
The Miami Hurricanes could be playing for a spot in the ACC Championship Game come Friday, Nov. 24. That may or may not be a good thing for the Pittsburgh Panthers.
A lot ACC media already picked second-year head coach Mark Richt and the Hurricanes to finish first in the ACC Coastal Division. In their final conference game of the regular season, they could be out to make a statement.
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The Panthers fell to the Hurricanes 51-28 last season in what was a long day for the secondary. Quarterback Brad Kaaya threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns in the easy victory in 2016.
Running back Mark Walton had himself a day as well. He ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries (8.9 yards per carry). While Kaaya is off to the NFL, Walton returns as does a plethora of other offensive weapons.
The Hurricanes will be led in this game once again by play of their quarterback. Considering its the final game of the season and a Friday game, we could see a spectacular performance from Miami here, depending on the starter at quarterback.
Not to mention, there’s a lot of promise behind their young defense which returns seven starters from last season’s team. They have some holes to fill in their secondary but those are sure to be solved by November, too.
Fans should be in for a high-scoring affair, with the Hurricanes coming out on top in the end.
Final: Miami 49, Pittsburgh 35 (7-5, 5-3 ACC)
End of regular season: 7-5 (5-3 ACC)
Going 7-5 and 5-3 in the ACC play is nothing to scoff when considering the circumstances. Head coach Pat Narduzzi and the Pittsburgh Panthers enter some unfamiliar territory as they’ll need to find a new starting quarterback. Graduate transfer Max Browne, formerly of USC, should be up for the challenge, but he’ll face a lot of tests in 2017.
Losing their offensive coordinator (Matt Canada) could sting a bit but they should learn a lot about themselves before it’s all said and done. They’ll have their work cut out for them as they attempt to return to a team that averaged 40.9 points per game on offense a season ago.
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Four returning starters on defense also leaves the Panthers questioning their ceiling for improvement in the passing game. The hope is that with new players in the system, the defensive woes can be forgotten about, but its never that easy in the game of football.