Playing in its first game as the AP No. 1-ranked team since 2002, Miami did not disappoint, defeating Pittsburgh 52-23 to improve to 7-0 on the season.
Here are three of CanesWear’s takeaways from the commanding win.
Miami’s Heisman contenders played like Heisman contenders
Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney were considered contenders for the prestigious Heisman Trophy award entering Week 9, and the quarterback-wide receiver duo proved why against Pitt.
Mensah completed 31 of 37 passes for 387 and four touchdowns, showing off the full command he has over the Hurricanes’ top-ranked scoring offense. Toney was arguably even more impressive, setting Miami’s single-game receptions record with 16 catches for 194 yards and three scores. He now has the third most career receptions in program history (175).
“He has the trust of the entire organization, certainly the quarterback,” head coach Mario Cristobal said about Toney. “He does an unbelievable job of creating separation. Elite route running, gets in and out of stuff, really fast and can run right by you as well, so when you have a player that can beat you every way possible, it’s really hard to cover. And we have playmakers around Malachi, where if you try to double one and create more attention on one, you can get hurt on the other side, which we did today as well. There’s not a guy in the country that's more dependable than Malachi Toney.”
“The dude works his butt off day in and day out, so come Saturday he’s super prepared,” Mensah said about Toney. “We had a great third down plan this week, and I think we did a good job executing.”
For the season, Mensah has thrown for 2,151 yards and 22 touchdowns, while Toney has caught 66 passes for 952 yards. Both players have a strong chance of being invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York in December.
Freshmen stepping up on both sides of the ball
The Hurricanes rank near the top nationally this season in snaps played by true freshmen. Several youngsters from the 2026 class made big-time plays for Miami in the win.
Running back Javian Mallory, who rushed for over 100 yards in last week’s win over Florida State, led the team in rushing once again on Saturday, totaling 47 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Tight end Gavin Mueller caught his first touchdown pass on a three-yard throw from Mensah, while Somourian Wingo recorded 28 yards on two catches.
Defensively, rising star JJ Dunnigan forced a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Justin Scott. Dunnigan also sacked Pitt quarterback Holden Geriner and finished with a team-high five tackles.
“Him filling in big shoes, him coming in as a freshman showing he’s ready to play, and just play any position, doing whatever he needs to to get on that field and just help us win,” Scott said about Dunnigan.
Dominant performance leaves room for improvement
The Hurricanes may have won convincingly, but they played far from a perfect game.
The offensive line was unremarkable, allowing three sacks and just 3.1 yards per carry on the ground. Miami also committed 10 penalties, several of which were the procedural type.
“All in all, again some positives, some things we got to clean up; some pre-snap penalties, at least six, I believe, four to six of them, and ten overall,” Cristobal said.
Miami’s pass defense was also lackluster at times, giving up 268 passing yards to Geriner. Way too often, Geriner connected with pass-catchers downfield for explosive gains.
