Andy BackstromContributing writerSat, November 29, 2025 at 8:36 PM UTC·4 min readMalachi Toney's right hand plucked a 19-yard pass early in the second quarter at Pittsburgh Saturday. Three plays later, it delivered a 9-yard touchdown toss that gave Miami a lead it never relinquished.
The do-it-all true freshman wide receiver put on his latest one-man show at Acrisure Stadium, where the No. 12 Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC) made their College Football Playoff case with one final statement, a 38-7 win over No. 22 Pitt (8-4, 6-2).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe question now becomes, is Miami's résumé more impressive the one No. 9 Notre Dame has put together after the Fighting Irish lost to the Hurricanes in Week 1?
Toney, who also made a 22-yard scoring grab to give Miami a 17-7 advantage before halftime, finished with 13 receptions, 126 receiving yards, 30 rushing yards and 2 total touchdowns.
The Panthers came in having won six of their past seven games, a stretch that started with them turning to true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel. Pitt scored 30-plus points in the string of victories the first-year signal-caller engineered this fall.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLast week, the Panthers shattered Georgia Tech's ACC title game dreams. This week, Heintschel was sacked four times and had to battle through an ankle issue while his Pitt offense also fell off the conference championship track.
As the Panthers' deficit grew, they unraveled with self-inflicted wounds. They committed nine penalties, including a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct infractions that led to a 4-yard rushing touchdown by running back Mark Fletcher Jr. early in the third quarter.
Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck found running back CharMar Brown out of the backfield for a 9-yard score to effectively put the game out of reach later in the period.
Beck threw his first pick since a Nov. 1 overtime loss to SMU, but he clocked out 23-of-29 passing with 267 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe and Toney helped Miami win its eighth game this season by 17 or more points.
Just a three-star prospect who reclassified into the 2025 recruiting class and turned 18 in September, Toney continued to generate five-star production. He even set Miami's freshman single-season receiving record in the win.
So...has Miami done enough?
The Hurricanes have back-to-back 10-win seasons under head coach Mario Cristobal. But they're still looking for their first-ever CFP appearance.
They'll have to wait to see if they check off that box this year.
Miami entered the day sixth in the ACC standings because of its two conference losses: one against Louisville on Oct. 17 and the other versus at SMU at the start of the month.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe conversation has been less about all of the help Miami's needed to reach the ACC championship and more about its pursuit of an at-large bid to the 12-team CFP.
That discussion has mostly centered around Miami and Notre Dame. The Hurricanes improved to 4-0 against ranked opponents Saturday. The Irish, meanwhile, are just 2-2 in those contests.
Notre Dame's best win came against then-No. 20 USC, whereas Miami's best win came against, well, Notre Dame on the final day of August. At the time, the Irish were ranked No. 6 in the country. Additionally, the Hurricanes have taken down South Florida and Florida State, both of which were ranked No. 18 when facing Miami, although FSU has cratered since.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNotre Dame has a better of strength of schedule than Miami — on Saturday afternoon, the Irish's was ranked 36th, and the Hurricanes' was 47th, per ESPN — plus, Notre Dame has better losses. One came against Miami, and the other came against now-No. 3 Texas A&M. So both of the Irish's defeats were handed to them by CFP candidates, and both arrived in the first two weeks of the season.
Like Miami, Notre Dame also blew out Pitt on the road, 37-15.
Their fates lie with the CFP committee.
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