No. 22 Pitt Falls to No. 12 Miami in Finale, Ends ACC Aspirations
PITTSBURGH — In a cold November regular-season finale, ACC aspirations were still on the line for both No. 12 Miami and No. 22 Pitt. For the Panthers, it was the most important ACC game since the 2021 season.
Pitt’s hopes and dreams were smothered quickly as a disappointing effort gave way to a Miami 38-7 victory Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
The Panthers finish the season 8-4, 6-2 in the ACC and saw their six-game conference win streak come to an end. Miami keeps its ACC hopes alive for now as the Hurricanes finish 10-2, 6-2 in the ACC.
Every phase of the game came up flat for the Panthers. Pitt’s offense was limited against a stout Miami defense, while the Panthers’ defensive unit struggled to contain freshman Malachi Toney, and it added several necessary penalties in the red zone.
Mason Heintschel went 22-of-31 for 199 yards and a touchdown. Pitt’s ground game totaled just 30 yards on 21 attempts for a 1.4 average per carry.
Toney was a one-man show for the Hurricanes as he caught 13 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown. He added a 9-yard passing score and rushed the ball five times for 30 yards.
Carson Beck went 23-of-29 (79%) for 267 yards, three passing touchdowns and one interception. Miami totaled 416 yards of offense with an average of 5.9 yards per play.
Unlike last week’s roaring start at Georgia Tech, Pitt’s offense was rather quiet in the first quarter. Heintschel was sacked twice in the first two drives that went backwards for negative 12 yards.
Still, the Panthers found the end zone first. Heintschel looped a pass up that was caught for a 40-yard pick up by Cataurus Hicks inside the red zone. A 9-yard pass play to running back Juelz Goff nearly put the Panthers in the end zone. Two plays later, Heintschel connected with a wide open Justin Holmes for the 6-yard touchdown reception as Pitt led 7-3.
For Miami, it was Toney, their dynamic freshman wide receiver, that had his fingerprints all over the first half of the play. Miami schemed Toney open consistently and utilized him in the backfield.
It was in the backfield where Toney made his influence known and demanded Pitt’s attention early. On Miami’s third drive, the Hurricanes picked up chunk yards into the red zone before Toney capped it off with a passing score. With the direct snap, Toney rolled right. The entirety of Pitt’s defense locked in on Toney before he popped a pass to a wide open Elija Lofton for the 9-yard touchdown play.
Pitt came up empty-handed on the following possession with a Trey Butkowski 43-yard field-goal miss in his first game in nearly a month after dealing with an illness.
Despite Miami’s worst starting field position of the afternoon at that point, the Hurricanes marched 75 yards to extend their lead.
On second-and-10 from the Pitt 22, Toney sliced open up the left side of the field thanks to a designed pick play that caught linebacker Kyle Louis in traffic. Toney, running wide open, hauled in a 22-yard touchdown to put Miami ahead 17-7 prior to halftime.
Miami came out in the second half looking to put the Panthers away in a hurry, and that’s what it did — with some help from an undisciplined Pitt defense.
The Hurricanes were backed up with a second-and-19, but a Tamon Lynum unsportsmanlike penalty gave Miami a fresh set of downs. That would happen once more, this time coming after a third-down stop inside the red zone. Instead of Miami kicking a field goal, Shadarian Harrison’s taunting penalty set up the Hurricanes at the Pitt 7. Three plays later and Mark Fletcher was in the end zone with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Miami’s dominant run offense on first down led the a 38-yard pick up for Girard Pringle Jr. on the following Hurricanes possession. Miami capped off the drive with a Beck 9-yard passing touchdown to Marty Brown to make it 31-7 Miami.
Miami added a passing touchdown with less than a minute to go as Beck located CJ Daniels for a 33-yard reception.
Pitt will now watch the ACC championship at home, which is still undecided with Virginia, SMU, Miami, Georgia Tech and Duke all still alive. The Panthers will await a bowl destination.
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