PITTSBURGH -- Jacory Harris directed quick-strike touchdown drives to start each half, threw a pair of touchdown passes and effectively shook off one of the worst games of his Miami career.
Didn't matter. Harris wasn't made available for interviews following the No. 19 Hurricanes' 31-3 rout of Pittsburgh, which is no more competitive now against Miami than it was when the schools were in the Big East Conference together seven years ago.
No, Miami's defense did all the talking, frustrating a Panthers offense that barely gained a yard until late in the first half Thursday night and never found any rhythm or confidence.
The score was one-sided, the statistics were one-sided and so was the difference in speed and talent.
"We needed this win really bad," Miami linebacker Sean Spence said. "We needed that momentum."
Apparently, the Hurricanes (2-1) needed to play Pitt (1-2), which lost its seventh in a row and its 15th in its last 16 to Miami, which left the Big East to join the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004.
The Hurricanes had five sacks, nine tackles for losses -- a stat in which they lead the nation -- and forced three turnovers. Spence, the best player on the field for much of the game, had 11/2 sacks and 21/2 tackles for a loss and a team-high nine tackles.
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"When you can stop the run and make them one-dimensional, you have a good chance of winning," Spence said. "We always want to be the one to throw the first punch."
Pitt is still waiting to throw one.
Panthers quarterback Tino Sunseri never had any time to throw in his third college start, and he was pulled with blurry vision in the fourth quarter after completing 8 of 15 passes for only 61 yards.
Dion Lewis, the nation's leading returning rusher, was given little running room by an overwhelmed offensive line and managed 41 yards on 12 carries. Lewis, coming off a 1,799-yard season as a freshman, has been held to 143 yards in three games and may lose his starting job to Ray Graham, who gained many of his 100 yards against backups.
Defensive end Jabaal Sheard called the Panthers' play and 1-2 record "embarrassing," although their only losses are to No. 15 Utah (27-24 in overtime) and the ranked Hurricanes, who were coming off a 36-24 loss at No. 2 Ohio State.
No doubt it didn't help that freshman defensive back Jeff Knox was thrown off the team hours before kickoff following an off-campus incident, the fourth involving a Pitt player since July. Two other players are suspended.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt met with his seniors shortly after the game and promised to look at everything the Panthers are doing -- or not doing.
"Right now, we are not efficient enough to drive the ball, sustain drives and score points," said Wannstedt, who promised changes before an Oct. 2 game against Florida International. "If we need to do less, we'll do less."
His offense must have picked up on that theme during the first three quarters.
Pitt wanted to prove that a good Big East team could stand up to a Top 25 team despite the conference's 1-7 record to date against BCS conference members. Instead, it was another embarrassment for the Big East, which has only one ranked team, No. 22 West Virginia, and looks to be down significantly.
Harris, coming off a four-interception game against Ohio State, threw two more interceptions that might have been pivotal if the game had been closer. Still, he went 21 of 32 for 248 yards and, according to coach Randy Shannon, "He managed the game well, he made some great throws and he did his job."
Shannon once played for and coached under Wannstedt, but he didn't do his mentor any favors in Pitt's worst loss at Heinz Field since a 42-10 defeat to Syracuse in 2001.
Harris completed passes of 39 yards and 13 yards to Travis Benjamin and 10 to Damien Berry on an impressive 80-yard, 10-play drive following the opening kickoff. Berry ended it with a 1-yard touchdown run with only 3:25 gone while rushing for 87 yards.
The Hurricanes made it 10-0 midway through the second quarter on Matt Bosher's 28-yard field goal and, at that point, led 12-0 in first downs, 161-1 in passing yards and 204-22 in total yards.
"We put an emphasis on tackling (in practice), and we were getting all 11 to the ball," defensive end Andrew Smith said. "We wanted to wrap them up and drive them back, and that showed up on the field."
After Pitt went three-and-out to start the second half, Miami came back with a 51-yard, four-play drive that was finished off with Harris' 19-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Hankerson.
Pitt didn't advance inside the Miami 30 until the next-to-last play of the third quarter, and got only a field goal out of that drive. Cam Saddler's fumbled punt then led to Harris' 10-yard scoring pass to Benjamin, who made six catches for 96 yards.
Pitt also lost a key player to injury, middle linebacker Dan Mason with a dislocated right knee midway through the third quarter. He is out indefinitely.
