The Countdown: 22 days until the ACC

22 days until the ACC: Panthers look to end drought against Canes

The day after Thanksgiving, the Panthers will look to end a 7 game skid against former Big East and now Coastal Division rival Miami. The losing streak against the Canes shouldn't surprise many - Miami ran through the Big East in the 13 seasons the Hurricanes were football-playing members, winning at least a share of the Big East 9 times. Pitt, meanwhile, struggled throughout the 90s and didn't start challenging the conference's top teams until the very end of Miami's time in the conference. In total, Pitt is 9-22-1 all-time against UM

It's been 16 years since Pitt last topped the Hurricanes. On a September homecoming night in Pittsburgh, the Panthers beat #22 Miami 21-17 for Pitt's first win over UM since the Panthers' national championship season in 1976. Since then, Miami rose and became one of college football's kings. Then, as Pitt finally amassed the talent necessary to beat the Canes, Miami left for the ACC.

Then came the 2010 game. For the first time in years, Pitt had a team that could actually meet the expectations set before them. They entered the season as overwhelming favorites to win the Big East, with a Heisman caliber running back. While Pitt had lost the opener at Utah, that was on the road in a tough environment against a strong Utah team. This was at home, in front of a near sellout crowd. The university spent months hyping up and promoting the game.

And then the game actually started. Pitt didn't record a first down until the second quarter, they didn't score until the 4th quarter, and the Canes dominated the Panthers much in the same way they did when they were in the Big East. Pitt laid the biggest of eggs on a national stage in typical Pitt fashion - by building up lots of hype and then falling flat on their faces.

So this game carries a little bit of extra weight as compared to some of the other games on the slate. While there aren't many current Panthers that were there on that Thursday night in 2010, there's no doubt that the players want to end the skid against Miami and exact some revenge for the embarrassing beat down the Canes laid on Pitt. Will they do it? I don't know, but all I ask is that Pitt shows up against Miami this season.