No. 1 Miami Beats Pitt 52-23 as Malachi Toney Sets School Record With 16 Catches

Pat Narduzzi spent the week reminding everyone he does not much care for how Miami does business. Mario Cristobal spent Saturday afternoon letting Malachi Toney answer for him.

Toney caught a school-record 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns, Darian Mensah completed 31 of 37 throws for 387 yards and four scores, and No. 1 Miami rolled past Pitt 52-23 at Hard Rock Stadium. It was Miami's first game as the No. 1 team in the AP poll since the 2002 season, and the Hurricanes played like a team that has no intention of giving the spot back.

Miami is now 7-0 and 5-0 in the ACC. Pitt drops to 5-3 and 2-3 and has lost three straight.

The beef before the game

There was some extra seasoning on this one. Back in July, Narduzzi accused Miami's staff of chasing his quarterback, Mason Heintschel, before the Hurricanes landed Mensah. At his Monday press conference this week, he was asked about it again and did not exactly let it go.

"If the NCAA can't get a hold on it and Congress can't get a hold on it, there's nothing you can do," Narduzzi said. "He's playing by his rules, and we'll try to play by our rules."

Cristobal declined to take the bait. "We don't worry about what teams, programs, media say about us," he said. The postgame handshake at midfield looked about as warm as you would expect.

Miami came out swinging

The subplot made for good television. The game itself was over early. Miami opened with a 40-yard Jake Weinberg field goal, Toney caught his first touchdown of the day on a short catch-and-run, and Javian Mallory ran one in from 16 yards early in the second quarter to make it 17-0. Pitt punted on its first three possessions.

The Panthers finally got on the board when Damon Ferguson Jr. ran in from 5 yards out, cutting it to 17-7. That was the high point for Pitt.

With 1:50 left in the half, Mensah found Toney for a 53-yard touchdown. Then the Miami defense struck. Freshman JJ Dunnigan forced a fumble, defensive tackle Justin Scott recovered at the Pitt 33, and Mensah cashed it in with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Mueller with 39 seconds left, the first of Mueller's career. Halftime: 31-7.

"That all goes back to swarming to the ball," Scott said of the takeaway.

The turning point: the last two minutes of the half

If Pitt had any real chance, it disappeared in that 71-second span before the break. A 17-7 game with a backup quarterback is survivable. A 31-7 game against the No. 1 team in the country is not.

Mark Fletcher Jr. punched in a 2-yard run early in the third quarter for his 33rd career rushing touchdown, which moved him to second on Miami's all-time list. Pitt answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Holden Geriner to Cataurus Hicks, but Miami put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by Mallory's second score, and Toney added an 11-yard touchdown early in the fourth to make it 52-14. Pitt's last nine points, a safety and a 49-yard touchdown pass from Corey Dailey to Cam Sapp with 46 seconds left, only made the final look a little friendlier.

Malachi Toney is a problem

Toney had 12 catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns at halftime. For context, 159 yards was exactly how much total offense Pitt had in the first half. One receiver matched an entire offense, and he did it while Pitt was actively trying to stop him.

"We double covered him at times and still couldn't cover him," Narduzzi said.

The 16 receptions broke the Miami single-game record, and the previous record holder was Toney himself, who caught 13 against Pitt last November. He also passed 2,000 career receiving yards. Toney said he spent some time with Hurricanes legend Andre Johnson, who was among the former players in the building. "He told me just keep being myself," Toney said. He also gave a little peek at how this receiver room works during the week. "It's relentless," Toney said. "You play this game before this game. You play it Tuesday and Wednesday."

Cristobal did not hold back. "There's not a guy in the country that's more dependable than Malachi Toney," he said.

Mensah keeps stacking efficient days

The quarterback Miami landed instead of Heintschel was outstanding. Mensah went 31-of-37 with no interceptions, and he has now thrown three or more touchdown passes in six of Miami's seven games. On the season, he is completing 81.4% of his passes with 22 touchdowns and one interception, and he leads the country in completion percentage.

"It's not surprising," Mensah said of Toney. "The dude works his butt off day in and day out, so come Saturday he's super prepared."

The numbers that tell the story

Miami scored on seven of its first eight possessions, went 7-for-7 in the red zone, converted 10 of 15 third downs and finished with 506 yards. The Hurricanes held the ball for 36:20 and won the turnover battle.

The defense deserves a share of the credit too. Pitt ran for just 69 yards, Dunnigan and Bryce Fitzgerald each had a sack, and Mohamed Toure added five tackles. "We just had a very good plan to contain them, got a lot of checks in," linebacker Chase Smith said. Hicks, a Miami native, was the one bright spot for Pitt with five catches for 149 yards. Geriner, making his second start in three games since Heintschel's season-ending knee injury, went 18-of-32 for 268 yards.

If there is a nitpick, Miami committed 10 penalties for 77 yards, and the players noticed. "We had far too many penalties tonight," Mensah said. "We have a lot to improve." Miami's full game recap (opens in a new tab) and box score (opens in a new tab) have the rest.

A day for 2001

The afternoon doubled as a reunion. Miami wore throwbacks matching the 2001 national championship team to mark the 25th anniversary of that title, and dozens of players from that roster came back, including Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Jeremy Shockey and Andre Johnson. Reed sounded the stadium siren, and Portis served as an honorary captain.

"They inspired so many future Hurricanes that ended up coming here to the University of Miami," Cristobal said.

What it means

Three straight weeks, the No. 1 team in the country lost. Miami broke that streak, and the Hurricanes are now 43-6 all time as the top-ranked team. They led the ACC at 5-0, and next on the schedule was a Halloween night trip to North Carolina. Being No. 1 means every opponent treats that game like its season, and Miami just showed it can handle the weight.

Next on the schedule for Pitt was a home game against Georgia Tech on Oct. 31, and a reset was needed. The Panthers are now 0-14-1 all time against the No. 1 team, and losing Heintschel has turned a promising season into a grind.

The last word

Narduzzi, to his credit, called it straight. "We ran into a buzz saw," he said. "That's a good football team. They're the No. 1 team in the country and it's no joke."

Toney was less interested in the celebration. "There's a lot of stuff out there we can do better on," he said. "Just because the score said what it was, we still probably left some points out there." That is what a No. 1 team sounds like. It is also bad news for the rest of the ACC.

Sources: Miami Athletics recap and box score, The Associated Press, ESPN, Field Level Media, The Miami Hurricane, Football Hotbed, Saturday Down South, AtoZ Sports, Pro Football Network and EssentiallySports. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Miami Athletics.