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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Miami delivered a statement win on Saturday, crushing Pittsburgh 52-23 at Hard Rock Stadium to improve to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in ACC play. The No. 1 Hurricanes were in control from the jump, scoring touchdowns on seven of their first eight possessions and building a commanding 24-point lead heading into halftime.
Quarterback Darian Mensah went 31 of 37 for 387 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions, but wide receiver Malachi Toney was again the star of the show. Toney finished with a school-record 16 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns. He had 159 receiving yards and two scores in the first half alone, repeatedly finding openings in Pitt's defense.
After the win, college football analyst Danny Kanell made a strong case for Toney in the Heisman Trophy conversation, arguing that the Miami wideout should be considered the favorite for the award after Saturday's performance.
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"I think he [Toney] means more to that offense than Darian Mensah, no offense because Darian Mensah is one of the best players in the country. But he really is what opens it up and puts such a stress on opposing defenses. He is uncoverable," Kanell said. "They move him around, they use creative ways to get him, he's tough getting open, he runs great routes, once he has the ball in his hands he's a dynamic playmaker that'll make guys miss ... If I were voting for the Heisman, I would give it to Toney."
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Toney came into this season on everybody's radar as one of the favorites for every major national award. Yet, he's somehow looked even better than he did last year. Through seven games, he's already recorded 66 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns, building on a standout freshman campaign in which he caught 109 passes for 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns.
His latest performance was his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season and the fourth time in seven games he's recorded at least 10 catches. It was also nearly his second 200-yard game of the season after exploding for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 12 catches in the season opener.
The Heisman is usually dominated by quarterbacks, but Toney is one of the most productive players in the country, and he's quickly become arguably the biggest star in college football, making his argument for the award even stronger.
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The last wide receiver to win the Heisman was Alabama's DeVonta Smith in 2020. Smith finished that season with 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns, numbers that Toney could surpass this season if he stays with the pace that he's on right now.
Toney has some serious competition this year, though. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is having a historic season of his own, with 984 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 52 catches through seven games. Mensah will also have the edge given the position he plays, while other quarterbacks are still in the conversation, including Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, Notre Dame's CJ Carr, Georgia's Gunner Stockton, and BYU's Bear Bachmeier.
Miami still has five games left on its schedule: at North Carolina, at No. 4 Notre Dame, vs. Duke, vs. Virginia Tech, and vs. Boston College. The road games against UNC and the Irish will be especially important opportunities for Toney to strengthen his Heisman case.
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