Miami hosts Pitt to keep College Football Playoff hopes alive

Hurricanes No. 12 miami knew they would have to put in an outstanding performance on the way to fight Con. 22 Pitt Panthers if they want to keep their ACC.

Mission accomplished.

The Hurricanes dominated the Herd the rest of the game en route to a 38-7 victory to move to 10-2 on the season. They are now 6-2 in conference play, while the Panthers, though 8-3, shared that record.

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Miami still needs some games to fall well despite where the CFP rankings put them. The ACC Champion, to be decided next Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, is expected to claim an automatic berth in the CFP. Miami entered week 14 in sixth place in the ACC standings.

But now that their first goal was complete by beating the Panthers, the Hurricanes will look to the rest of the conference. There are many scenarios that could get Miami into the ACC title game, the most obvious being Virginia (No. 1 in the standings), SMU (No. 2 and the team that beat Miami earlier this month) and perfect record) all losses.

The Hurricanes should also watch the NC State-North Carolina gavation game because it has some standing impact.

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If the Hurricanes were to get an at-large bid, a few teams would have lost on Saturday. Among them it is not. No. 10 Alabama, which fell to Oklahoma two weeks ago at home, lowered CFP standards. Auburn would have to upset the Crimson Tite in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, while No. 11 Byua would also have to lose to UCF at home.

Miami got help, however, from the No. 1 overall team in the country. The Ohio State Buckeyes took down Michigan, Michigan, a result that ended Michigan’s chances of reaching the CFP.

So, how did the storms take care of business Saturday afternoon in Western Pennsylvania? Carson Beck threw three touchdowns, going 23-for-29 through the air for 267 yards. He also threw an explanation.

But Beck wasn’t the only Hurricane to throw a touchdown. Malachi Toney, the team’s leading receiver in the game, started the storming of the game. It wasn’t until the second quarter that Toney found Elijah Lofton for a nine-yard touchdown catch in the end zone.

Then, on the next drive, Toney was the recipient of a 22-yard touchdown run that started Miami’s lead, making it 17-7.

CJ Daniels and Clamer Brown also had foul shots, while Mark Fletcher Jr. added a rushing touchdown for the Hurricanes.

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Hurricanes, including head coach Mario Cristobal, have been saying throughout the year that CFP should take his team with a high level of scrutiny, especially considering Notre Dame is more important than opening the season with a win in Ireland.

Notre Dame has the same record as Miami heading into its final regular season game against Stanford Saturday Night.

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