The No. 12 ranked Miami Hurricanes rolled into Acrisure Stadium with a mission: to dominate No. 22 Pitt with a chance to the College Football Playoff on the line.
They did just that on Saturday afternoon. The frigid 30 degree temps in Pittsburgh did not faze the Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC) and as Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said best, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only soft people.”
Regardless of making the CFP, the Hurricanes won a game they haven’t won in years past, clinching back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in over 20 years. Miami hopes it can keep that momentum into 2026 and beyond.
Oh My, Malachi
That was likely the words everyone in the college football world uttered during Saturday’s contest against Pitt because there’s no one like Malachi Toney. It feels like every week the 18-year old phenom does something special, and Week 14 was no exception.
Early in the second quarter, quarterback Carson Beck stepped back in the pocket and fired a pass that looked to be too far to the left of Toney. But Toney leaped and caught the ball one-handed and the crowd was in shock of what they just saw.
The freshman finished the game with 13 receptions for 126 yards with two total touchdowns, one receiving and one passing. In the process of his superstar performance, he broke Miami’s freshman receiving yard record which was previously set by Ahmmon Richards in 2016 with 934 receiving yards. Toney now sits at 970 receiving yards on the season.
Toney spent his true freshman season involved in all three phases of the game, showing immense talent as a runner, passer, and receiver. Freshman All-American is a surefire guarantee. It’s time to start calling Toney an All-American and one of the best players in the sport.
Miami must do whatever it takes to keep Toney in the orange and green for the rest of his career.
What a difference one year makes on defense
Thank you Corey Hetherman. The first-year defensive coordinator has reshaped what once was a struggling unit just a season ago.
Miami put on a dazzling display defensively. UM held Pitt to just seven points and 229 total yards. Pitt was a team just a few weeks ago who put up 42 points against Georgia Tech, who at the time was the favorite to make the ACC Championship game. Most notably Miami held Pitt to 30 rush yards compared to when Georgia Tech allowed 201 from Ja’Kyrian Turner alone.
The pass rush dominated once again, sacking freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel four times and holding the Pitt passing game to under 200 yards and an interception from true freshman safety Bryce Fitzgerald.
There is so much good to say about this defense especially in the secondary, a unit led by future NFL first-round pick Rueben Bain Jr., who finished his last regular season game as a Hurricane with four solo tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Miami deserves to make the CFP
Miami needed to have a complete and dominant game if it wanted to turn heads to the college football selection committee and they did that. Although Miami did not qualify for the ACC Championship, on paper they are better than both Virginia and Duke.
If you look at ranked opponent wins, common opponents, and head-to-head matchup wins, the Hurricanes check the box in all of those categories. In terms of the remaining at-large teams, Miami has the head-to-head over Notre Dame and wins over Florida and Florida State, teams that beat Texas and Alabama, respectively.
College Gameday’s Nick Saban, the greatest coach in the history of the sport said before Saturday’s game that if Miami gets in, it will be “one of the most dangerous teams in the playoff.”
“This [Miami] is a College Football Playoff team. I think we’ve all seen it, we know it,” Cristobal said following the 38-7 win.
The Hurricanes will await the results of College Football Playoff Selection Show on Sunday, Dec. 7, to see if Miami’s postseason will continue in the playoffs or in a bowl game. The show airs from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on ESPN.
