No. 1 Miami Hurricanes beat the Pittsburgh Panthers 52-23 on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, with quarterback Darian Mensah throwing four touchdown passes to push the Hurricanes to 7-0. Malachi Toney caught three of those scores and finished with 16 receptions for 194 yards.
Miami scored on five straight possessions spanning the first and second quarters to take a 31-7 lead into halftime, and the result was never in doubt from there. Pittsburgh’s Holden Geriner threw for 268 yards and a touchdown but completed just 18 of 32 passes before giving way to backup Corey Dailey, who threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Cam Sapp in the final minute. The Panthers dropped to 5-3.
Takeaways From Miami’s Win Over Pittsburgh
Mensah and Toney controlled the game through the air
Mensah completed 31 of 37 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, and Toney was his primary target all afternoon. Toney’s touchdowns covered 19, 53 and 11 yards, and his 194 receiving yards accounted for exactly half of Miami’s 387 passing yards. The connection produced touchdowns in each of the first three quarters.
Miami pulled away early and never let up
The Hurricanes scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives from the 12:25 mark of the second quarter through the 4:33 mark of the third, a stretch that turned a 10-0 lead into a 45-14 cushion. Javian Mallory scored twice during that span on runs of 16 and two yards, finishing with 47 yards on just seven carries.
Pittsburgh couldn’t establish the run or stop the pass
The Panthers managed only 69 rushing yards on 26 carries, a 2.7 average that forced Geriner into obvious passing situations most of the game. Pittsburgh converted just 4 of 12 third downs and went 0-for-2 on fourth down. Cataurus Hicks caught five passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, but the rest of the Pittsburgh offense could not keep pace with Miami’s possession time of 36 minutes 20 seconds.
Player Of The Game: Darian Mensah
Mensah went 31-for-37 for 387 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, directing an offense that totaled 506 yards. His 387 yards and four touchdowns came against a Pittsburgh defense that had allowed just 403 total yards on the day, 334 of them through the air.
Miami Vs Pitt By The Numbers
Miami out-gained Pittsburgh 506 total yards to 403, with the Hurricanes converting 10 of 15 third downs compared to Pittsburgh’s 4-for-12. Miami held the ball for 36:20 against Pittsburgh’s 23:40, a gap of nearly 13 minutes. The Hurricanes finished with zero turnovers while Pittsburgh lost one fumble. Miami was flagged 10 times for 77 yards, more than Pittsburgh’s six penalties for 54 yards, but the discipline edge still belonged to the Panthers on the scoreboard only in garbage time, when Dailey’s late touchdown and a fourth-quarter safety on a bad snap trimmed the final margin.
What’s Next
Miami, ranked No. 1 and now 7-0, continues its undefeated run. Pittsburgh, at 5-3, looks to bounce back from this loss.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
