Pittsburgh (5-2, 2-2 ACC) at No. 1 Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC). Saturday, Oct. 24, noon ET, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla., ESPN.
Your hosts are Javi "The Breeze" Castillo, a former Miami defensive back who scouts in linen and sunglasses, and Dominic "Yinz" Bertolucci, a steel-town linebacker who grades every tackle from "yinz" to "yikes" with a homemade whistle.
Javi: It's all about the U, baby! "Number one in the sun, Canes get it done!"
Yinz: How's it goin', n'at? Nice sunglasses. Dat's a yinz problem, not a yikes problem.
Players to watch
Miami scores 48.5 points per game, the most in FBS, and allows only 14.0, seventh. Quarterback Darian Mensah has completed 80.8% of his passes for 1,764 yards, 18 touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Malachi Toney has 50 catches for 758 yards and eight touchdowns, fourth in FBS in receiving yards. Running back Javian Mallory has 397 yards and five scores. Linebacker Mohamed Toure leads with 30 tackles.
Pitt has the best run defense in FBS, allowing just 57.3 rushing yards per game. Opponents average 2.02 yards per carry. Wide receiver Cataurus Hicks has 26 catches for 500 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Damon Ferguson Jr. has 438 yards, and defensive back Cruce Brookins leads with 46 tackles.
Yinz: Brookins? A whole lotta yinz.
What happened last week
Miami beat Florida State 43-35. Mensah went 23 of 34 for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Toney caught 11 passes for 154 yards and two scores, and Mallory ran for 108 yards and two more. Toure made 12 tackles.
Pitt lost 27-21 at Boston College. Corey Dailey made his first career start and went 11 of 25 for 193 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Ferguson ran for 119 yards, and Hicks caught five passes for 135 yards and a touchdown. It was Pitt's second straight loss after a 5-0 start.
Javi: "Toney in the end zone, mi amigo, that's a done zone!"
Injuries and availability
Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel, who threw 14 touchdowns with one interception, tore the ACL in his right knee at Virginia Tech and is out for the season. Pat Narduzzi said he hasn't decided who will start at Miami. No Miami injury news has surfaced, and the ACC's first availability reports post three days before kickoff.
Yinz: Prayers for a full recovery, kid.
What the coaches are up to
Mario Cristobal was hired at Miami in December 2021. His Canes are 3-0 on the road this season, with wins at Stanford, Wake Forest and Clemson. They play at North Carolina next. Last season ended with a 27-21 loss to Indiana in the CFP national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium.
Pat Narduzzi has led Pitt since December 2014. His defense is elite against the run, but his team gives up 81.7 penalty yards per game, 132nd, and its pass defense ranks 115th.
Player storylines
The matchup to watch: Mensah and Toney against a Pitt pass defense allowing 249.0 yards per game. Miami has scored 30 or more points in every game. Pitt's best hope is its run defense against a Miami ground game averaging 6.09 yards per carry.
What's happening on campus
Miami is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its 2001 national championship team with an on-field ceremony; the athletics department calls that team "considered by many to be the greatest team in college football history". Homecoming comes later, against Duke on Nov. 14. The forecast called for 80 degrees, a 44% chance of storms and an 18 mph northeast wind.
Javi: Twenty-five years of 2001, rain or shine, the U looks fine!
Yinz: Storms? Buddy, come to Pittsburgh in November.
Anything else fun and true
Miami leads the series 30-12-1. Miami claims national titles in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2001. Pitt's 1976 team went 12-0 and won the national title, and Tony Dorsett won the Heisman Trophy that year. Pitt won its first ACC championship in 2021.
Yinz: Nineteen seventy-six. Look it up, sunglasses.
Javi: Grab a cafecito, hermano. It's on me.
The Cover Window
My call: Miami Hurricanes 37, Pittsburgh Panthers 18.