CORAL GABLES — Hail Mary passes in double overtime nearly put Miami’s victory over Florida State in doubt, and the issue came back to bite them at times against Pittsburgh.

The No. 1 Hurricanes were never at risk of going to overtime against the Panthers on Saturday, but they did give up several deep passing plays, including a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half that UM stopped on the 1-yard line.

“It’s simple execution. It really is,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “Everyone has an assignment and needs to get there. You’ve got to be physical when you get there and get it done. That’s the bottom line. There’s not. It really isn’t overly complicated. It’s just not good enough. And with all the good stuff that’s going on, it’s certainly something that we need to get better at.”

The Hurricanes defense as a whole has performed well this year, ranking 11th nationally in points allowed per game and 21st in yards allowed per game. But the pass defense has lagged behind the rush defense (which is No. 1 in yards allowed per game).

Miami is 107th in the nation in pass defense, allowing an average of 239.1 yards. Part of that is because teams are often playing from behind because UM’s offense, which is No. 1 in the nation, has given the Hurricanes a lead. And Miami’s secondary has been battling injuries all season; starting cornerback OJ Frederique Jr. has been out since the first drive of the season opener, and fellow starting corner Xavier Lucas missed four games with an injury before returning against Florida State.

But the Panthers, who were playing without their starting quarterback, Mason Heintschel, still connected on five passes that went for 25 yards or more. There was the first-half-ending Hail Mary that came up just shy of a touchdown. Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman attributed the near touchdown to a lack of attention to detail, and he said the defense discussed it on Monday.

“What we talk about is rerouting receivers, delivering them down the field and then body-guard them through the man,” Hetherman said. “And we lose track of the receiver. He goes up, catches the football and they have a big play there. And that can’t happen. There’s just very little detail on it, and that’s going to change.”

Pitt scored twice on deep balls: One was a 36-yard touchdown toss to Miami native Blue Hicks, who got the deep pass at the end of the first half, and the other was a 49-yard score near the end of the game.

Hetherman said the defense needs to practice harder in order to avoid explosive plays. Miami ranks 82nd nationally with 23 passes of 20 or more yards allowed. The Hurricanes are 27th nationally with seven passes of 30 or more yards allowed, and they are 74th nationally with five passes of 40 or more yards allowed. Pro Football Focus gives UM a 78.4 coverage grade, which is 65th nationally.

“We have to practice harder,” Hetherman said. “What you do on Tuesday and Wednesday is exactly what you’re going to do on Saturday. And we lost our one-on-one reps. We lost a handful of one-on-one reps, and that’s what showed up.”