Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) scores in front of Pittsburgh linebacker Kyle Louis (9) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
PITTSBURGH — Carson Beck passed for 267 yards with three touchdowns and an interception as No. 13 Miami beat No. 24 Pittsburgh 38-7 on Saturday.
The long-range matter for Miami is whether it has done enough to earn one of the at-large berths in the College Football Playoff. The Hurricanes ripped off four straight wins by an average of 27.5 points to close the regular season.
“I believe we can compete with anybody, in my opinion, and honestly not even in my opinion,” Beck said. “I think we’ve shown that.”
Miami’s resume also includes a victory over No. 6 Notre Dame in the season opener. A lot has happened over the last three months, though the Hurricanes hope their play down the stretch puts them back in the position they thought they’d be to start the season: in the mix to play for a national title.
Beck connected on 23 of 29 passes to finish the regular season with a 74.7% completion percentage, tops in the FBS and a new program record.
The Georgia transfer added an exclamation point at the end, a 33-yard heave to CJ Daniels in the final minute with victory well in hand, in hopes of adding some style points against a team ranked No. 22 in this week’s CFP rankings.
Beck said the decision to throw only came after Pitt opted to stop the clock while trailing by 24 with less than 2 minutes to play.
“They had called a timeout, so let’s go score, screw it,” Beck said.
Malachi Toney caught 13 passes for 126 yards and added a 9-yard lob to Elija Lofton for a score in the second quarter that gave the Hurricanes a lead they never came close to squandering.
Pitt (8-4, 6-2) came in with hopes of reaching the ACC championship. They evaporated in the late November chill as Miami hounded Panthers freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel and wore Pitt’s defense down in the second half.
Heintschel was sacked on the game’s first play, and the Hurricanes never really let up. He shook off a leg injury late in the first half to return for the second but completed just 22 of 32 for 199 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“We’ve got a good football team,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Of course, nothing good happened in that game. They’ve got a good football team as well, and they outplayed us today, they outcoached us today, and it falls on my shoulders.”
Up next
Pitt: A bowl game for the eighth time in Narduzzi’s 11 seasons with the program.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Miami 3 14 14 7 — 38
Pittsburgh 0 7 0 0 — 7
First Quarter
MIA–FG C.Davis 29, 4:31.
Second Quarter
PITT–J.Holmes 6 pass from Heintschel (Butkowski kick), 14:20.
MIA–Lofton 9 pass from Toney (C.Davis kick), 11:07.
MIA–Toney 22 pass from Beck (C.Davis kick), 1:55.
Third Quarter
MIA–Fletcher 4 run (C.Davis kick), 9:29.
MIA–C.Brown 9 pass from Beck (C.Davis kick), 4:28.
Fourth Quarter
MIA–Daniels 33 pass from Beck (Auburn kick), :41.
A–49,845.
TEAM STATS MIA PITT
First downs 28 11
Total Net Yards 416 229
Rushes-yards 39-140 21-30
Passing 276 199
Punt Returns 2-5 0-0
Kickoff Returns 2-50 1-17
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 24-32-1 22-33-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-24 4-33
Punts 2-40.0 6-41.833
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 5-28 9-88
Time of Possession 35:55 24:05
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Miami, Pringle 10-82, Toney 5-30, Fletcher 10-30, C.Brown 8-16, (Team) 1-(minus 1), Beck 5-(minus 17). Pittsburgh, Turner 10-37, Goff 3-14, J.Cook 1-3, Heintschel 7-(minus 24).
PASSING–Miami, Beck 23-29-1-267, Toney 1-2-0-9, Fletcher 0-1-0-0. Pittsburgh, Heintschel 22-32-1-199, Yates 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING–Miami, Toney 13-126, Bauman 3-58, Daniels 2-40, Marion 2-13, Upshaw 1-11, Trader 1-10, C.Brown 1-9, Lofton 1-9. Pittsburgh, Turner 6-11, R.Williams 5-66, J.Holmes 3-14, Hicks 2-44, C.Lee 2-32, Overman 1-10, J.Cook 1-9, Goff 1-9, Johnson 1-4.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–Pittsburgh, Butkowski 43.
