PITTSBURGH — By the time Miami’s Bryce Fitzgerald snagged an interception to put a capper on the Hurricanes’ fourth consecutive blowout victory, pretty much all of their fans who made the trip north had gathered in the first few rows behind the road team’s bench.
After Carson Beck took a knee out of victory formation, some Miami players celebrated with their bundled-up supporters, posing for selfies and tossing gear into the stands. Malachi Toney, Miami’s fabulous freshman, took a jog down the railing, handing out high fives.
No. 12 Miami pummeled No. 22 Pitt 38-7 on Saturday to close its regular season. The Hurricanes (10-2), though, did not clinch anything. Their victory assured them of nothing when it comes to the postseason.
They were expected to spend the rest of Saturday scoreboard watching, hoping for some combination of results involving about a half dozen teams to provide them the opportunity to keep chasing championships in the postseason.
This much is clear, though. Regardless of whether Miami makes the College Football Playoff, the Hurricanes are a Playoff-worthy team. Not only are they good enough to be in the field, but they are good enough to beat just about anybody else that gets in.
“We dominated from the beginning to the end, and it kind of fits what we’ve been doing as a football program. We’re playing our best and getting our healthiest towards the end of the year,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “Playing our best football right now.”
Cristobal added a not so subtle reference to Miami’s signature victory of the season, a 27-24 victory against Notre Dame to open the season on Labor Day weekend.
“At the end of the day, not only do we pass the eye test, we pass the field test, right?” Cristobal said. “Especially as it relates to playing this brand of football down the stretch and in head-to-head competition versus others that are being judged in the same little pool that we are as well.”
The Miami-Notre Dame debate has raged since the first selection committee rankings were released a few days after Halloween.
The Irish (9-2) have not lost since dropping a 1-point decision against Texas A&M in Week 3. They finish their season Saturday night at Stanford. The Hurricanes hit a rough patch at the absolute worst time, losing to Louisville and SMU by a combined nine points leading into the committee’s first rankings release. Miami came in at 18. Notre Dame at No. 9.
The Hurricanes have been playing catch-up ever since, the result on the field between the two teams not swaying the committee.
The Hurricanes have slowly closed the gap on still-No. 9 Notre Dame, but whether they can get ahead of the Irish and into the Playoff without some help has looked less likely with every passing week. Results be damned.
Since falling at SMU, Miami has outscored its opponents 151-41.
Beck, the high-priced Georgia transfer, has led the finishing kick. Over his past four games, he has completed nearly 80 percent of his passes, with 11 touchdowns. His only interception came in the fourth quarter against Pitt, with the score 31-7. Toney was brilliant Saturday with 165 total yards, a touchdown catch and a TD pass, and Rueben Bain Jr. had 1.5 sacks for a defense that allowed just 229 yards.
“We’ve shown that we can compete with anyone, and that we have a really, really talented team,” Beck said. “Not just a few talented players here and there, but a really talented team that is really efficient, that plays really, really well in all three phases.”
It starts up front. Miami’s lines are just loaded with future NFL Draft picks, from Bain and Justin Scott on defense to Francis Mauigoa on offense. Center James Brockermeyer started his college career at Alabama before making his way to Miami via TCU.
“We’re just as talented as any team I’ve ever been on,” he said.
It might not matter, but Miami has been determined not to go quietly and make it as difficult as possible for the committee to keep it out of the Playoff.
This post-Thanksgiving trip to Pitt seemed like the perfect trap. Winter temperatures greeted Miami, but with no wind or precipitation, the elements weren’t really a problem. Beck warmed up with cutoff sleeves before the game, while the sun was still shining. They played under overcast skies, with temps in the mid-30s.
“It’s too cold, Coach,” Beck told Cristobal as the coach greeted his quarterback with a hug and smile outside the locker room after the game.
There is some history of Miami’s Playoff hopes dying here at the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers against a Panthers team with a freshman quarterback.
Back in 2017, the Hurricanes were ranked No. 2, poised to go into the ACC title game with a chance to make the four-team CFP. That day, Kenny Pickett and the Panthers, who didn’t even reach bowl eligibility that season, beat the undefeated Canes 24-14 to start a three-game losing streak to end the season.
These Hurricanes are built differently. More like the Big Ten and SEC teams the committee fawns over. Miami overwhelmed Pitt (8-4) and freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel much the same way Notre Dame did here a few weeks back.
The Irish jumped out to a 14-0 lead early and cruised to a 37-15 victory over the Panthers on Nov. 15. Miami was more methodical, but when the Hurricanes got it rolling, Pitt never really had a chance.
Beck’s 9-yard touchdown pass to CharMar Brown made it 31-7 with 3:09 left in the third. The sparse home crowd at Acrisure Stadium hung around just long enough for the fourth-quarter “Sweet Caroline” singalong, but otherwise the matter had been settled.
But if Pitt was going to keep calling timeouts on defense late in the game, Miami was happy to keep playing, too. With 41 seconds left, Beck found CJ Daniels for a 33-yard touchdown to punctuate the blowout. A Miami cheerleader sprinted behind the end zone with a huge flag, flying the famous U logo to celebrate.
Daniels is one of those guys who has been battling injuries in the second half of the season. Without him — and with leading rusher Mark Fletcher in and out of the lineup, too — Toney has become the focal point of the offense. Including his two pass attempts, he had 20 touches on the day.
“There might not be a better and more exciting player in the country right now than Malachi Toney,” Cristobal said.
After Pitt took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, Miami unleashed Toney. The receiver who came to The U with the nickname Baby Jesus, made a sensational one-handed catch near the sideline for 19 yards and a few plays later flipped a 9-yard touchdown pass to Elija Lofton to put the Hurricanes up 10-7.
We’re thankful trick plays exist.
📺 ABC x @CanesFootball pic.twitter.com/caTJkPQZ8a
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 29, 2025
Next possession, Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson lined up Toney in the backfield, sent him in motion to get his defender caught up with another defensive back, and Beck found the 5-11 receiver wide open for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Canes up 17-7 before halftime. Toney finished with 13 catches for 126 yards on 16 targets and 30 yards rushing.
If Miami does indeed get shut out of the CFP, there is plenty of blame to go around.
The selection committee will catch the most heat, of course.
You could point to a Playoff format that will allow teams from outside the committee’s final top 12 to bump teams from within, a high likelihood.
The overgrown ACC with 17 teams and wildly imbalanced schedules is part of the problem, too.
The Hurricanes themselves are not without fault here. So clearly the best team in the ACC, but instead of handling their business the way Texas Tech did in the Big 12, Miami let two winnable games get away. Yes, Louisville and SMU are solid opponents, but Miami is good enough to have dusted one or both with slightly cleaner performances. Now Miami needs an array of things to happen to make the league title game.
The worst that can be said about the Canes is they get sloppy with penalties. It’s not the easiest thing to trust Cristobal’s teams. They have a history of letting games they should win get away.
But this is his best squad. Miami came into Saturday with a top-30 offense and top-15 defense.
Toward the end of Cristobal’s postgame news conference, it was pointed out to him that Louisville beat Kentucky 41-0 and Clemson beat South Carolina 28-14 on Saturday afternoon, giving the ACC two victories against the vaunted SEC.
“I just think people got to stop bullsh–ing and just trying to place value on conferences. There’s a lot of really good football teams in all conferences, especially the ACC,” Cristobal said.
Then as he walked away from the podium, he had a question for the questioners.
“Florida beat Texas, right? We beat Florida, right?” he said.
Miami has made its case, and it has been pretty convincing.
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