Pitt Snaps Miami's Win Streak
The Pittsburgh Panthers have made a habit of playing spoiler later in the season with upset victories, and they did the same again on Friday afternoon. In a game that saw Malik Rosier benched with Miami down in the second half, the Hurricanes suffered their first loss of the season, 24-14, at the hands of Pitt. Rosier did return to the game after sitting briefly in the fourth quarter and finished with 187 yards passing and two touchdowns, but Miami's nation-long 15-game win streak came to an end. The Hurricanes did attempt a comeback late, including recovering an onside kick, but a Rosier fumble ended that threat. Kenny Pickett also helped out with a late 22-yard touchdown run for the Panthers, who are now just 5-7 on the season. Pickett finished the night with two touchdowns on the ground, and another through the air, while also throwing for 193 yards. This is the fourth time since 2002, and second consecutive season, that Pitt has taken down a top-3 team while being outside the top 25. They did so last year to the Clemson Tigers, who went on to win the National Championship, which could bode well for the Hurricanes' College Football Playoff chances. Miami was held to a season-low 229 yards in Friday's loss, but now head in to an ACC-Championship showdown with No. 4 Clemson next week.
UCF Wins Thriller With USF to Stay Perfect
UCF had one more win to record to clinch their perfect regular season and clinch a spot in the AAC Championship Game, while South Florida had every intention of replacing them in that spot against Memphis. In what was a wild, back and forth game, Mike Hughes returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with 1:28 left to help UCF stun South Florida with a 49-42 victory. The win moves them to 11-0 on the season, making them the first team to go from winless to undefeated in a two-year span in college football history. That's 729 days to be exact. McKenzie Milton and Quinton Flowers were involved in a stellar showdown at the quarterback position, including Milton's 373 yards and four touchdowns.. Flowers got it done through the air and on the ground by throwing for 503 yards and four touchdowns, while also running for 102 yards and another score in the Bulls' second loss of the season underneath head coach Charlie Strong. South Florida had a school-record 605 total yards, as the two teams combined for 1,186 yards of offense in the wild showdown. Hughes's game-winning touchdown came immediately after South Florida had tied the game with an 83-yard touchdown pass from Flowers to Darnel Solomon. That capped off a 53-second span that also included the Knights taking an eight-point lead. The win sets up UCF for a chance to stay perfect in the AAC Championship Game against Memphis on December 2nd.
Duke Needs Overtime to Rally Past Texas
The Duke Blue Devils faced their toughest challenge of the young season on Friday evening, and it took a second half rally and a tremendous freshman effort to survive. Marvin Bagley III had a career-high 34 points and 15 rebounds, as the Blue Devils outlasted the Texas Longhorns in overtime, 85-78, in the semifinals of the PK80 tournament. Duke trailed by as many as 16, including 12 at the half, but Bagley, along with Gary Trent Jr.'s 17 points, helped the Blue Devils improve to 7-0 on the season. Dylan Osetkowski had 19 points for Texas, who suffered their first loss of the year, and fell short of their first ever victory over a top-ranked team. It didn't help that Bagley tied the Duke freshman record for points in a game, which was set by J.J. Reddick on January 15th, 2003 against Virginia. The star freshman had 21 points in the second half and overtime to lead the comeback. The Blue Devils' shooting struggles led to the early deficit, as they only made three of 18 three-point attempts on the night. Texas wasn't able to fully capitalize on that with shooting troubles of their own by going 4-for-23 from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils now advance to take on seventh-ranked Florida in the final on Sunday night. The Gators will be coming off a double-overtime with over No. 17 Gonzaga late Friday night.
The Pittsburgh Panthers have made a habit of playing spoiler later in the season with upset victories, and they did the same again on Friday afternoon. In a game that saw Malik Rosier benched with Miami down in the second half, the Hurricanes suffered their first loss of the season, 24-14, at the hands of Pitt. Rosier did return to the game after sitting briefly in the fourth quarter and finished with 187 yards passing and two touchdowns, but Miami's nation-long 15-game win streak came to an end. The Hurricanes did attempt a comeback late, including recovering an onside kick, but a Rosier fumble ended that threat. Kenny Pickett also helped out with a late 22-yard touchdown run for the Panthers, who are now just 5-7 on the season. Pickett finished the night with two touchdowns on the ground, and another through the air, while also throwing for 193 yards. This is the fourth time since 2002, and second consecutive season, that Pitt has taken down a top-3 team while being outside the top 25. They did so last year to the Clemson Tigers, who went on to win the National Championship, which could bode well for the Hurricanes' College Football Playoff chances. Miami was held to a season-low 229 yards in Friday's loss, but now head in to an ACC-Championship showdown with No. 4 Clemson next week.
UCF Wins Thriller With USF to Stay Perfect
UCF had one more win to record to clinch their perfect regular season and clinch a spot in the AAC Championship Game, while South Florida had every intention of replacing them in that spot against Memphis. In what was a wild, back and forth game, Mike Hughes returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with 1:28 left to help UCF stun South Florida with a 49-42 victory. The win moves them to 11-0 on the season, making them the first team to go from winless to undefeated in a two-year span in college football history. That's 729 days to be exact. McKenzie Milton and Quinton Flowers were involved in a stellar showdown at the quarterback position, including Milton's 373 yards and four touchdowns.. Flowers got it done through the air and on the ground by throwing for 503 yards and four touchdowns, while also running for 102 yards and another score in the Bulls' second loss of the season underneath head coach Charlie Strong. South Florida had a school-record 605 total yards, as the two teams combined for 1,186 yards of offense in the wild showdown. Hughes's game-winning touchdown came immediately after South Florida had tied the game with an 83-yard touchdown pass from Flowers to Darnel Solomon. That capped off a 53-second span that also included the Knights taking an eight-point lead. The win sets up UCF for a chance to stay perfect in the AAC Championship Game against Memphis on December 2nd.
Duke Needs Overtime to Rally Past Texas
The Duke Blue Devils faced their toughest challenge of the young season on Friday evening, and it took a second half rally and a tremendous freshman effort to survive. Marvin Bagley III had a career-high 34 points and 15 rebounds, as the Blue Devils outlasted the Texas Longhorns in overtime, 85-78, in the semifinals of the PK80 tournament. Duke trailed by as many as 16, including 12 at the half, but Bagley, along with Gary Trent Jr.'s 17 points, helped the Blue Devils improve to 7-0 on the season. Dylan Osetkowski had 19 points for Texas, who suffered their first loss of the year, and fell short of their first ever victory over a top-ranked team. It didn't help that Bagley tied the Duke freshman record for points in a game, which was set by J.J. Reddick on January 15th, 2003 against Virginia. The star freshman had 21 points in the second half and overtime to lead the comeback. The Blue Devils' shooting struggles led to the early deficit, as they only made three of 18 three-point attempts on the night. Texas wasn't able to fully capitalize on that with shooting troubles of their own by going 4-for-23 from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils now advance to take on seventh-ranked Florida in the final on Sunday night. The Gators will be coming off a double-overtime with over No. 17 Gonzaga late Friday night.
