SoFla Guide Editors
The view from the top looks great, and now Miami has to keep it. The No. 1 Hurricanes (6-0, 4-0 ACC) host Pittsburgh (5-2, 2-2 ACC) at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, October 24, at noon ET on ESPN, according to Miami’s official game notes and 247Sports. That same day, the program celebrates the 25-year reunion of its 2001 national championship team, so the bar for a good afternoon is set pretty high.
How Miami got here
Miami was ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and US LBM Coaches Polls released on October 18, the program’s official game notes said via On3. That is the first time the Canes have held the top spot since the December 8, 2002 polls. That’s a 24-year wait, which is long enough that some of the students in the stands Saturday weren’t born the last time this happened.
The climb ended with a wild one. Miami beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime on October 17 at Hard Rock Stadium. That game left plenty of people talking about the officiating. Yahoo Sports and ClutchPoints reported that two calls were disputed: a holding penalty on FSU tackle Xavier Chaplin that wiped out a potential Seminoles touchdown, and a ruling that overturned a potential Duce Robinson touchdown as an interception.
The chatter didn’t stop there. TotalProSports reported on a viral video that purportedly shows a referee shaking Michael Irvin’s hand right after the two controversial calls. Established news outlets have not verified the video’s authenticity or its context, so file that one firmly under “unconfirmed internet discourse.”
Mario Cristobal, in his fifth season as Miami’s head coach per the game notes, didn’t sugarcoat his team’s performance afterward.
“Credit to Florida State. They played their tails off. And credit to our guys, because I can sit here and rattle off a million mistakes and errors that we need to correct, but we just kept battling,” Cristobal said after the game, according to Yahoo Sports and ClutchPoints.
The Mensah factor
Quick correction to some of the buzz floating around: Darian Mensah is not a freshman. Miami’s official roster lists him as a redshirt junior, born January 25, 2005, and ESPN backs that up. He redshirted at Tulane in 2023, started for Tulane in 2024 and played at Duke in 2025 before transferring to Miami for this season.
He arrived with a résumé. According to Miami’s roster bio, Mensah threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns at Duke in 2025, led the Blue Devils to the ACC Championship, was named Second-team All-ACC and earned MVP honors in both the ACC Championship Game and the Sun Bowl. He was also named ACC Preseason Player of the Year, the game notes said.
So far in orange and green, he has delivered. Through six games, Mensah has 18 touchdowns and just one interception, according to the official game notes via On3.
Cristobal has made it clear how he feels about his quarterback. Speaking on ESPN’s College GameDay and The Pat McAfee Show on game day, as reported by ClutchPoints, he said:
“Darian Mensah has a relentless mentality. He demands the most of himself and his teammates. He’s just different and we’re blessed to have him on our football team.”
What it means for South Florida
There’s a lot riding on one Saturday in Miami Gardens. A win keeps the Canes unbeaten and gives them a strong case to stay at No. 1. Pitt arrives with a 5-2 record and a .500 mark in conference play, so this is a real ACC test, not a tune-up.
Then there’s the 2001 reunion. Miami’s game notes confirm October 24 is the official 25-year celebration of the national championship team, which means the current roster gets to defend the top ranking with one of the program’s most famous squads on hand for the occasion. Miami and adidas also unveiled 2001 throwback uniforms to mark the anniversary, in case you were wondering why your group chat has been full of retro jersey photos.
For a fan base that has waited since 2002 to see that “1” next to the team’s name, the timing is almost too on the nose.
How to watch or get there
- When: Saturday, October 24, 2026, noon ET
- Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
- TV: ESPN
A noon kickoff in Miami Gardens means sunscreen and water are not optional. Get there early if you want to soak up the reunion festivities, and plan for game-day traffic around the stadium.
The question hanging over Saturday is simple: can the No. 1 Canes handle Pitt and keep the top spot? We’ll find out around lunchtime.
