It’s now 9:43 PM. The Pitt-Miami game is at halftime, and the Panthers trail the Hurricanes 21-7. Here are my on-the-spot observations of the first half.

–We certainly started out well. Our first drive focused on the ground attack. Brandon Miree had 5 carries for 24 yards. Princell “Blockhands” Brockenbrough made a key catch, and Kris Wilson caught the touchdown pass. Then we intercepted Brock Berlin on Miami’s next drive. Unfortunately, we peaked right about then.

–Due to a penalty and a sack, we wound up with a second and 21. And Walt Harris called two running plays?

–Then Miami’s running game kicked in. Moss ran right down the field. I said earlier this week that stopping Miami’s ground attack would be the biggest key to this game. Throughout the first half, we were increasingly unable to stop Moss and Payton.

–Then a 60 yard kick return by Allen was wasted when Rutherford got sacked. The second most disturbing trend in the first half was our inability to protect Rod. Rod never had time to see Fitzgerald half the time… let alone throw it to him.

–At the start of the second quarter, Miami ran it right down the field again to go up 14-7.

–On Pitt’s first drive of the second quarter, a couple of runs were stopped and Rutherford got sacked. Each one of these events were met with boos easily heard over ABC television.

–A beautiful 78 yard screen play, sprung by some nasty blocking by Canes Tight End Kellen Winslow Jr., set up an easy Jarrett Payton touchdown. 21-7 Miami.

–After Pitt went three-and-out yet again, Miami had a half decent drive going down the field. The third most disturbing trend of the first half was Pitt’s poor tackling on defense. Gary Danielson made a big deal of this during this drive, and justifiably so.

So there you go. If we don’t stop the Canes’s running game, protect Rutherford, and start tackling, this is gonna get ugly.

See you at the end of the game.