Pittsburgh Panthers vs Miami Hurricanes Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 5, 2016

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Quarterback Brad Kaaya passed for 356 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to tight end David Njoku, as Miami snapped a four-game losing streak with a 51-28 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon.

Kaaya connected on his first 13 pass attempts, with two going for touchdowns to give the Hurricanes an early 14-7 advantage, then scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to put the Hurricanes (5-4, 2-3 ACC) up 27-21 after the Panthers (5-4, 2-3) had gone ahead 21-20 midway through the second quarter.

Kaaya finished the alternately sunny and rainy afternoon completing 32 of 47 passes with no interceptions. He also had a career-long 12-yard run and was sacked only once despite facing a Pitt defense that came into the game sixth in the nation with 28 on the year. Miami had given up 18 sacks in its previous four games.

Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns, one a 75-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Jester Weah, but the Panthers struggled to get their ground game in gear. They rushed for only 130 yards, 102 under their season average. Running back James Conner rushed for only 40 yards, less than half his average of 84 yards, but scored on a 12-yard run.

Miami rushed for 178 yards, with nearly a third of it coming on running back Mark Walton's 55-yard touchdown dash with just over two minutes left.

The Hurricanes came up with the only turnovers with defensive end Chad Thomas' fumble recovery deep in Pitt territory on the second play of the second half setting up a touchdown and safety Rayshawn Jenkins' interception in the end zone preventing a potential Panthers' score later in the third quarter.