HEINZ FIELD Battle for the Big East: Pitt run game returns for Hurricanes

The Panthers will need to run the ball to combat Miami's secondary.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Basketball teams can get away with one or two players supplying most of the offense. Pitt learned this season that simply won't work in football.
Despite all the outstanding catches by Larry Fitzgerald and the big plays by quarterback Rod Rutherford, the No. 20 Panthers found out they couldn't get by with an offense that was becoming increasingly one-dimensional.
That's changed now that Brandon Miree is healthy again, as evidenced by his 188 yards rushing and two touchdowns in Saturday's 30-16 victory over Temple.
Miree was sidelined for seven weeks with a stress fracture in his leg, and the impact his absence caused on Pitt's offense was enormous. With Miree back, the Panthers rushed for 253 yards against Temple -- the first time all season they had more yards rushing than passing.
The week before, they had 419 yards passing and only 10 rushing in a 52-31 loss to West Virginia, and the 253 yards against Temple were only 10 fewer than Pitt's leading rusher had in its previous six games combined.
Key factor
Coach Walt Harris said getting back the two-tiered attack the Panthers (8-3, 5-1 in Big East) began the season with was a must going into Saturday's key game against No. 10 Miami (9-2, 5-1).
The winner will earn at least a share of the Big East Conference title and the conference's automatic bid to the BCS bowl, almost certainly the Orange Bowl.
"We probably haven't been as good on offense as we thought we could be -- and we've had to throw the ball more," Harris said. "It's because Brandon gets a lot out of the running game. He makes a lot of people miss, he's big and physical and he likes to play."
The only question for weeks was when Miree would be healthy. He practiced before the West Virginia game, but Harris decided he wasn't ready to go. As a result, Pitt never developed a running game, thus allowing West Virginia's defense to go after Rutherford in the second half.
Coming on strong
Miree ran for at least 100 yards in all but one of Pitt's final five games last season, but has spent most of this season on the bench waiting for his leg to heal.
"He's the big element that we've been missing," Harris said.
Miami traditionally has the Big East's fastest and most athletic secondary. Fitzgerald no doubt wants to make a big, final push for the Heisman Trophy, but he'll be going against the nation's No. 2 pass defense.
Led by safety Sean Taylor and cornerback Antrel Rolle, the Hurricanes allow 139.1 yards passing -- far less than the 299.5 yards Pitt averages. Fitzgerald by himself averages more yards (142.6) than Miami allows.
The Hurricanes also don't give up much on the ground (125.5), but Miree ran for 118 yards against them in Pitt's 28-21 loss to then-No. 1 Miami last season.
"Miami is fast," Harris said. "They look like an NFL team."