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Pitt will seek to make history tonight by defeating its second top three opponent of the… Pitt will seek to make history tonight by defeating its second top three opponent of the season when it travels to Miami to square off against the country’s No. 1 team.

The Panthers (8-2 overall, 5-0 Big East), who are currently ranked 17th in the country, will look to make this their first nine-win season in 20 years.

They lost last year’s bout with the Hurricanes 43-21 at Heinz Field. The victory was Miami’s 12th in the last 13 meetings between the two schools.

Miami (9-0, 4-0) enters this game riding a 31-game winning streak and has yet to lose under head coach Larry Coker.

The key to Miami’s success lies in its defense, which is currently the nation’s fifth best.

The Hurricanes’ pass defense is ranked No. 1 in all of college football, yielding just 106.7 yards per game in the air. Miami has allowed four passing touchdowns in its nine games this season.

“That is the strength of their football team,” Pitt head coach Walt Harris said. “Their front four is great, the linebackers fly, they’ve got everything.”

Two potential Heisman Trophy candidates, senior quarterback Ken Dorsey and sophomore running back Willis McGahee, headline the Hurricanes’ offense.

Dorsey, who led Miami to an undefeated season and a national title last year, leads the Big East conference in passing with an average of 251.7 yards per game, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions in his first nine games.

McGahee enters the contest as the conference’s No. 2 leading rusher, averaging 132 yards per game and a Big East-leading 17 rushing touchdowns.

“He makes a lot of guys miss tackles,” Pitt defensive end Claude Harriott said. “It’s always that first guy he makes miss and that’s what makes him a great back.”

McGahee and Dorsey finished second and third respectively in this week’s ESPN.com Heisman Watch Poll.

Miami has at least three viable options in its passing game, as junior receivers Andre Johnson and Kevin Beard have combined for 855 yards and 10 touchdowns on 55 receptions.

Junior tight end Kellen Winslow has picked up where his predecessor, former first round Draft pick Jeremy Shockey, left off. Winslow has amassed 472 receiving yards and six touchdowns on a team leading 37 catches.

“He’s got excellent size and great speed for a tight end,” Harris said. “He does an excellent job working the coverage.”

Linebacker Gerald Hayes leads Pitt’s defense, which is ranked eighth in the country. Hayes, who has 103 tackles this season, is the first Pitt defender in 14 years to amass 100 tackles in three straight seasons.

The Pitt offense stars freshman wideout Larry Fitzgerald, who leads the Big East in receptions per game with 4.6 and in receiving touchdowns with eight.

Quarterbacking the Panthers will be junior Rod Rutherford, who this season has thrown for 17 touchdowns and 219.8 yards per game.

Junior Brandon Miree will likely be the Panthers’ starting tailback. Miree has rushed for 633 yards and three touchdowns this season and is averaging just more than 4 yards per carry.

For the Panthers to be successful against Miami, they must do three things. Pitt will have to run the ball effectively, as they did against a top run defense when they defeated Virginia Tech. Miami’s secondary is too solid for the Pitt offense to remain reliant on the pass as it has this season.

Pitt must also keep penalties to a minimum. In last year’s game against Miami, Pitt accumulated 128 yards in penalties and lost by 22 points. No team that makes 128 yards worth of mistakes will have a good chance to defeat the nation’s best team.

Finally, the Panthers need to take Dorsey’s receiving options away as early in the game as possible and force the Miami offense to run the ball. Pitt’s defensive strengths lay in stopping the run, so if cornerbacks Torrie Cox, Shawn Robinson and Shawntae Spencer can contain Johnson and Beard, then Harriott and the defensive line will have a better chance of keeping McGahee in check.

The game will be aired nationally on ESPN with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.