Canes Face A Chill In The Air And The Panthers
PITTSBURGH (CBSMiami) – The University of Miami Hurricanes will look to close out their 2013 regular season on a high-note Friday when they head to chilly Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers.
Both teams are assured of a bowl game with Pittsburgh sitting at 6-5 and Miami sporting an 8-3 record. But both teams could use a bolster to their respective bowl resumes with a victory Friday. Pittsburgh would have victories over Notre Dame, Duke, and Miami with a victory on Friday.
Knocking Miami off though will be easier said than done. The Hurricanes have won the last seven games between the two schools dating back to both schools' time in the Big East. The last time Pittsburgh beat Miami was in 1997 when the Panthers' current seniors were in elementary school.
Miami could use a pair of victories to end the season after knocking off the Virginia Cavaliers at home last week. While Miami is likely out of the race for the ACC Championship game, a victory may seal a trip to Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on December 31.
The biggest challenge for the Hurricanes may not be the Panthers, but instead the weather.
The weather is expected to be clear and in the low 30's when the game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. The temperatures will then begin to plummet to the low 20's as the sun goes down. Add in the three rivers that converge near the stadium and the wind chill may make it feel much, much colder.
"It's a challenge to the way we want to operate, a challenge to our mindset. It's a challenge to everything we want to be as a football program," Hurricanes head coach Al Golden told CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald. "We want to be a team that's process-oriented, we want to be a team that … blocks out everything externally. Certainly in this case the weather is one of those external challenges."
The last time Miami played in condition this cold was in 2010 when the Canes were spanked by Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl, 33-17.
A victory by Miami will help lessen the sting of the three straight losses by double-digits to Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Duke at the beginning of November. Miami is averaging 35.5 points this season and allowing 25.5 points and will likely look to run the ball early and often against Pitt.
