Miami’s 52-23 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday was already a big night for the Hurricanes, but a moment after the final whistle is getting just as much attention. Cameras caught head coaches Mario Cristobal and Pat Narduzzi at midfield, and fans are arguing over what they saw.
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In it, the two coaches meet at midfield for the usual postgame handshake and casually pat each other on the back. By the end of it, though, Cristobal appears to almost shove Narduzzi, in a now-viral clip posted by Grant Reacts on X.
The game itself was a blowout. Miami was playing its first game as the nation’s No. 1 team in nearly 24 years, and it never trailed at Hard Rock Stadium. The Hurricanes led 31-7 at halftime and improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the ACC.
Quarterback Darian Mensah finished 31 of 37 for 387 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Receiver Malachi Toney caught 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns, which set a Miami single-game record for receptions.
Miami’s offense hardly slowed down; they scored on seven of their first eight possessions, with six touchdowns and a field goal, and they converted 10 of their first 12 third downs. Toney had 12 catches for 159 yards by halftime, which matched Pittsburgh’s entire first-half offense.
Pittsburgh dropped to 5-3, and it was the Panthers’ third straight loss. They did score late, when Corey Dailey hit Cam Sapp on a 49-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left, but it only made the final score look a little closer.
It was also a celebration day for Miami as they marked the 25th anniversary of its 2001 national championship team, and dozens of players from that squad were honored at halftime. The current players wore throwback orange jerseys, Ed Reed cranked the stadium siren before kickoff, and Clinton Portis served as honorary captain.
There was also some tension between the two coaches before kickoff. On October 19, during a weekly presser, Narduzzi had criticized how Miami builds its roster and was frustrated about Miami’s pursuit of Pittsburgh freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel.
“If the NCAA can’t get a hold on it and Congress can’t get a hold on it, there’s nothing you can do,” Narduzzi said. “He’s playing by his rules, and we’ll try to play by our rules.”
Cristobal did not directly address Narduzzi as a response. He did say, though, that Miami doesn’t worry about what anyone says and that his focus is on preparation, on the same day but in a different presser.
“We don’t worry about what teams, programs, media say about us,” Cristobal said. “I mean, our complete focus is on practice and preparation and giving ourselves the best chance to be 1-0”
Neither coach has explained the handshake moment, at least in what’s available so far, so fans are filling in the blanks on their own. Here is how they reacted online.
“Why did those pats on the back seem so aggressive (laughing emoji),” a fan wrote.
This fan noticed that the pats did not look that friendly and trolled.
“Lots of physical contact, Cristobal returned every single ‘pat’… alpha bear Mario,” another fan wrote.
Each coach patted the other during the handshake, so the contact went both ways. But the fan here meant that each “pat” was a response to what Narduzzi earlier criticized.
“Mario was like, get the f*** out of here with last pat on the shoulder (laughing emojis),” a comment read.
The fan was talking about the last pat as the part of the clip where Cristobal appears to almost shove Narduzzi.
“That was passive-aggressive asf (laughing emojis).”
Cristobal never answered Narduzzi’s criticism in public, and the handshake was the first time the two were seen together after those comments.
“Pat Narduzzi got SONNED.”
This fan was talking about the whole afternoon, not only the handshake. Miami led 31-7 at halftime and never trailed, while Pittsburgh lost its third game in a row.