Pittsburgh Panthers	Miami Hurricanes ©
Played November 21, 2002 at the Orange Bowl Miami, Florida

  

 

Teams' Belt Records

 

Team	Belt Reigns	Overall Record				Home Record				Away Record				Neutral Record
		W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT	W	L	T	PCT
Pittsburgh	0	0	5	0	.000	0	3	0	.000	0	2	0	.000
Miami, FLA ©	2	31	7	0	.816	15	1	0	.938	13	3	0	.813	3	3	0	.500

 

 

The 17^th ranked, 8-2 Pittsburgh Panthers of coach Walt Harris traveled to the Orange Bowl to meet the top-ranked, 9-0 Miami Hurricanes of coach Larry Coker.  The Hurricanes survived a late rally maintaining their 29-game Belt reign with a 28-21 victory over the Panthers.  Miami took an early lead when Pittsburgh’s opening drive was stopped & Hurricanes' All-Big East S Sean Taylor returned Panthers' All-Big East P Andy Lee’s punt 78 yards for a 7-0 Miami lead.  After another Pittsburgh punt, Hurricanes' All-Big East QB Ken Dorsey’s pass was intercepted by Panthers' LB Brian Beinecke & Pittsburgh drove 34 yards in five plays with QB Rod Rutherford hitting All-Big East WR Larry Fitzgerald on a 5-yard touchdown pass to tie the score 7-7.  Both teams missed field goals in the 2^nd quarter before the Panthers got a break.  After deflecting a punt, Pittsburgh's offense took the ball at the Miami 30-yard line.  The Panthers used seven plays to get into the end zone with Rutherford connecting with WR Roosevelt Bynes on the 4-yard touchdown pass & a 14-7 Pittsburgh lead.  After the kickoff, Miami’s All-American RB Willis McGahee took the next snap on a 69-yard run for the tying touchdown.  The Hurricanes opened the 2^nd half with a 71-yard, 4-play drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Dorsey to All-Big East WR Andre Johnson for the only points of the quarter giving Miami a 21-14 lead.  The Hurricanes opened the 4^th quarter with McGahee scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run putting Miami ahead 28-14.  The teams exchanged punts before Pittsburgh scored on Rutherford’s 3-yard run after a 73-yard drive to close to within 7 points at 28-21.  The Panthers’ defense held Miami's offense; giving Rutherford the ball back at Pittsburgh's 42-yard line with 2:12 to play.  Rutherford drove the Panthers to the Miami 20-yard line with just 0:20 to play but his 4^th down pass to WR Yogi Roth at the goal line was just out of reach & the Hurricanes had the 28-21 victory.  Dorsey finished with 163 yards passing with a touchdown & McGahee added 159 yards rushing with his 2 touchdowns.  For Pittsburgh, Rutherford finished with 150 yards passing with 2 touchdowns as well as 69 yards rushing with a touchdown but was sacked six times & RB Brandon Miree added 118 yards rushing.  Miami finished the season 12-1; Big East Champions, ranked 2^nd nationally while the Panthers finished 9-4 & ranked 19^th nationally.  Pittsburgh had not played for The Belt again.