5 up, 5 down from Miami Hurricanes’ 52-23 win over Pitt Panthers

It was a splattering at Hard Rock Stadium on the day the University of Miami honored the 2001 national championship team. Given the way that Canes put a hurting on teams, it was fitting, particularly with the 2026 version wearing those (absolutely awesome) 2001 throwbacks.

Miami jumped on Pitt early and cruised to a 52-23 win that could have been even uglier for the Panthers than the final score indicated. The Canes led 52-14 just two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Naturally, there were a ton of standouts in the contest, along with a few forgettable moments for others. As usual, I'm testing my eye/memory against how Pro Football Focus graded the roster with a minimum of 20 snaps.

The top two speak for themselves with elite performances, and in Toney's case, record setting. Mensah was 31/37 for 387 yards, four touchdowns, and no picks. Pretty self-explanatory. Toney shattered the school record with 16 grabs, which he turned into 194 yards with three touchdowns. Also very self-evident. Elite talents, elite plays, engines that drove the win.

Lightfoot had a team-high four QB pressures to his credit along with two passes defended, including breaking up a screen pass on third down (something that Miami had major problems with against Florida State), so he had his impact on the game beyond a box score of just two tackles. Scott was solid in the middle and recovered a fumble. Despite not having a tackle or stat on the day, Xavier Lucas didn't allow a catch, with a pass defended to his credit. The 36-yard touchdown in the second quarter was against Ethan O'Connor.

I really don't understand why JJ Dunnigan wasn't higher and on this list. Dunnigan finished with a co-team high five tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble that Scott recovered. He was credited with allowing one catch for 11 yards. He was right below the top five, but he deserved to be there this week, IMO. Not sure what PFF was doing with their grade there (74.2).

Okay, so I didn't really ding the offensive line last week like I should have, but I noticed issues more against the Panthers. Alofaituli had a false start on the first offensive play and later on a holding penalty that was declined in favor of another flag. No bueno. Pitt ended up with more QB pressures, sacks, and tackles for loss on the day than Miami did, which is a bit concerning.

Congdon earned a team-low pass blocking mark of 11.8. When I think of numbers that low, I think of the single-digit marks by Notre Dame's offensive line last year where Miami's defensive line absolutely whipped them for the majority of that game. I didn't come away with that level of failure from #58, but I'll see on rewatch if I missed a performance that poor. Not sure that's a fair number. But we'll see.

I expected to see O'Connor on here after allowing the long touchdown to Pitt, but he checked in just off the list with a grade of 55.8. He was credited with allowing two catches on three targets for 58 yards. I did not see Poyser with as bad of a game as their grades reflect, nor Marcelin, so I will see if they're justified on a rewatch. For now, I don't get it off my initial recollection.