MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. _ For the better part of the last month, it's been nothing but frustration.
Miami entered Saturday afternoon having lost four straight, coming up painfully, heartbreakingly close in three of those games, with miscues extending their streak of misery.
But on this day at Hard Rock Stadium, the Hurricanes jumped to an early lead, weathered a comeback effort from Pittsburgh and ultimately, picked up a 51-28 win that could serve as a turning point.
With the victory, the Hurricanes avoided their first five-game losing streak since 1977. And they moved one step closer to bowl eligibility, something they could clinch with a victory next week at Virginia.
While the Hurricanes more than once said this week that hasn't been a focus, there's no doubt this young team _ one that features multiple freshmen in key roles _ wants the extra practices that come with a postseason berth. And it showed on Saturday it wanted to avoid another spate of questions about the performance of its offensive line, the health of its quarterback, and its emotional state.
The Hurricanes (5-4, 2-3 ACC) have insisted throughout their skid they've remained engaged and have had plenty to play for, including their pride. That showed as they held Pitt running back James Conner, the 2014 ACC Player of the Year, in check and kept their own star, quarterback Brad Kaaya, on his feet.
Kaaya, who was sacked 13 times in Miami's last two games and has dealt with a nagging shoulder injury, had his best performance of the season, completing 32 of 47 passes for 356 yards with four touchdowns. He also ran for another score and looked as comfortable in the pocket as he has in weeks.
Kaaya and his receivers took advantage of a Pittsburgh secondary that has struggled at times this season with Ahmmon Richards catching eight passes for 144 yards and setting a freshman record, while Stacy Coley had nine catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns and David Njoku added six catches for 86 yards with two touchdowns.
Mark Walton had a game-high 125 rushing yards, with 55 of those coming on a late touchdown run that set off a wild celebration on the Miami sideline.
Slow starts have been an issue for the Hurricanes during their four-game losing streak, with Miami falling behind by 10 against North Carolina and by 20 against Notre Dame. And so, Hurricanes coach Mark Richt adjusted Miami's practice schedule this week, opting for more up-tempo drills during the early portion of workouts in an effort to get his team moving quickly from the start.
The strategy worked early against the Panthers, with the Hurricanes scoring on their opening drive for the first time since their Oct. 1 win against Georgia Tech.
On that drive, Kaaya completed four of four passes, moving the Hurricanes down the field and connecting with Njoku on a 12-yard scoring pass that gave Miami a quick lead.
While Pittsburgh answered with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Quadree Henderson, Miami responded with yet another touchdown drive and then a drive that ended with a Michael Badgley 46-yard field goal, giving the Hurricanes a 17-7 lead late in the first quarter.
Still, the Panthers (5-4, 2-3), who were bidding to become bowl eligible Saturday, kept fighting back.
Conner, back this year after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and undergoing cancer treatment in the offseason, was virtually untouched on a 12-yard scoring run that pulled the Panthers within a field goal early in the second quarter.
Two possessions and another Badgley field goal later, the Panthers even took the lead, once again moving down the field almost effortlessly and capping a six play, 75-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Peterman to George Aston.
The lead was short lived, though, with Miami answering with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Kaaya following his offensive line into the end zone.
The Hurricanes wouldn't trail again.
