OXFORD — Chuck Martin didn’t need much time to identify the biggest injury Miami sustained in its season opener.
“We’re mentally bruised,” Martin said.
The RedHawks returned from Pittsburgh with plenty of reasons to be after a 59-14 loss Saturday at Acrisure Stadium. Pitt piled up 646 yards, scored on its first three possessions and never punted while handing Miami its most lopsided season-opening loss since a 56-10 setback at Iowa in 2016.
Miami (0-1) now has less than a week to determine what that beating becomes — the beginning of a trend or an uncomfortable lesson for a roster filled with new faces.
Martin made it clear Monday that the RedHawks can’t simply dismiss what happened because it came against a Power Four opponent.
“I didn’t really know we were capable of playing that bad on defense because we’ve played such good defense for such a long time,” Martin said. “Our defense is not very good in 2026 right now. But I’ve got a lot of faith in our coaches, and I’ve got a lot of faith in our players.”
Pitt sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel completed 29 of 38 passes for 453 yards and seven touchdowns, tying a school record and setting an Atlantic Coast Conference record for touchdown passes in a season opener.
Miami allowed 480 passing yards and 33 first downs. Pitt averaged 9.1 yards per play and converted seven third downs.
The RedHawks were more effective against the run. Pitt finished with 166 rushing yards, but 50 came on Justin Cook’s first-quarter touchdown. Martin said Miami generally handled Pitt’s conventional running game well.
That provided little consolation after what happened through the air.
“There was nothing really positive to take away other than, OK, we’ve got to flush that one,” Martin said. “There’s things to be learned from it, which we have to, but then some of it you’ve just got to flush.”
Martin pointed to problems throughout the pass defense — pressure, coverage, scheme and communication.
There were instances when Miami covered well but gave Heintschel too much time. Other times, Martin said, defenders weren’t where they were supposed to be.
“We got on our heels and we started guessing,” Martin said. “We started floating around out there and doing things that were — there’s times you look at the tape and it’s really like, ‘Wow, I don’t even know what we’re doing here.’”
That was particularly troubling for a program that has built much of its recent success around defense.
Miami entered this season after allowing 22.8 points per game in 2025, and Martin’s program has developed a reputation for being assignment-sound even when facing more talented opponents.
Saturday looked nothing like that.
Martin also refused to isolate the blame to players.
“We weren’t prepared to play well enough on any side of the ball to compete in a game that I believe we can compete in,” Martin said. “I’m disappointed in how I had my team prepared. And if they’re disappointed in how they played, that’s a good thing because we’ve got a chance to get really better every day.”
There were opportunities to change the complexion of the game.
Scoop Smith returned the opening kickoff 55 yards, giving Miami the ball in Pitt territory. The RedHawks failed to capitalize. Pitt then scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions and led 21-0.
Miami briefly responded.
D’Shawntae Jones’ 1-yard touchdown run made it 21-7, and after Pitt answered, freshman quarterback David McComb hit Damarion Witten for a 75-yard touchdown. Suddenly, despite Pitt’s domination, Miami trailed 28-14 with 4:34 remaining in the first half.
The RedHawks then forced what appeared to be their first stop.
A personal foul extended Pitt’s possession.
The Panthers eventually kicked a 58-yard field goal on the final play of the half and scored touchdowns on each of their first four possessions after halftime.
Martin called the penalty one of several examples of Miami failing to play “winning football.”
“There’s no moral victories,” Martin said. “We’ve got to cash in.”
McComb gives Miami something to build around
The final numbers don’t tell the entire story of David McComb’s first college start.
Neither does Martin’s assessment that his freshman quarterback didn’t play well enough to help Miami win.
What encouraged Martin was everything that happened between those two realities.
McComb completed 16 of 31 passes for 240 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions against a Pitt defense that entered the season expected to again be one of the more aggressive units on Miami’s schedule. He distributed his 16 completions among seven receivers and directed Miami’s two touchdown possessions.
“He didn’t play near good enough or make decisions near good enough to really beat anyone, let alone beat Pitt,” Martin said. “But his demeanor was incredible. His compete level was incredible. His poise was really good.”
Most importantly for a quarterback making his first collegiate appearance, McComb didn’t unravel.
Pitt led 21-0 before the first quarter ended. Miami’s running game produced only 28 yards on 21 attempts for the afternoon, leaving much of the offense on McComb’s shoulders.
Martin saw missed reads, incorrect post-snap decisions and details that stalled possessions. He also saw a quarterback who usually understood his mistake before coaches could explain it.
“Sometimes pre-snap he had a plan, and then post-snap was different, and he didn’t execute post-snap,” Martin said. “It cost us. We go three-and-out.”
But McComb repeatedly returned to the sideline knowing what he had seen and where he should have gone with the football.
There were no excuses, Martin said.
“There wasn’t one time where he didn’t know it,” Martin said. “There was zero excuses. There was total accountability, and he couldn’t wait to get back out there.”
That response reminded Martin of Brett Gabbert’s first college start at Iowa in 2019.
Gabbert endured difficult stretches that night but continued wanting the next possession. Martin saw something similar from McComb after Miami fell behind three touchdowns Saturday.
“He couldn’t wait to go back out there and try to compete and play,” Martin said. “Which to me was a huge positive.”
Miami also protected McComb better than Martin anticipated. Pitt recorded two sacks, but Martin said the protection generally gave the freshman a chance to operate.
Miami began finding openings during the second quarter.
Braylon Isom twice converted third-and-12 situations, including a 22-yard reception. Lynel Billups-Williams caught a team-high four passes, and Witten finished with three receptions for 90 yards and the 75-yard touchdown. Smith added 157 all-purpose yards in his college debut.
The problem was balance.
Lazaro Rogers led Miami with 21 rushing yards. Jones had 13 yards on seven attempts, including the 1-yard touchdown, and Miami averaged 1.3 yards per carry.
Martin said he initially wondered whether Miami should have stayed more committed to the run.
Then he watched the film.
“I got on the bus and watched the run game,” Martin said. “Like, yeah, I don’t know if I’m running it. The answer is no. There’s just nothing there.”
That put even more responsibility on McComb.
His next lesson comes against an entirely different defensive structure.
Holy Cross visits Yager Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday for Miami’s home opener before the RedHawks travel to Cincinnati on Sept. 19.
Martin said the change in opponent won’t necessarily make McComb’s job easier mentally.
“He’s just got to grow from this,” Martin said. “He should grow from this. I don’t know why he wouldn’t. I’m very optimistic he would.”
Holy Cross offers Miami a chance to reset before Cincinnati
Miami’s second game will look considerably different from its first.
Martin doesn’t want the RedHawks’ approach to change with it.
Holy Cross arrives in Oxford 0-2 after consecutive 35-10 losses to Lehigh and Colgate. The Crusaders opened against nationally ranked Lehigh before falling Saturday at Colgate.
The Crusaders have nevertheless shown some ability to create plays through the passing game. Junior receiver Myles Abernathy had nine receptions for 129 yards against Lehigh, while Ty Curran produced seven catches for 130 yards against Colgate.
Holy Cross represents Miami’s lone Football Championship Subdivision opponent this season, but Martin cautioned against viewing Saturday as a recovery game.
“Whenever you play up, you usually get the team’s best effort,” Martin said. “I know they’re going to be excited to come here and play and take a shot at Miami.”
More importantly, Holy Cross has an entire afternoon of Pitt film showing what worked against the RedHawks.
Martin expects the Crusaders to use it.
“They’re going to look at the Pitt tape and say, ‘Hey, why don’t we just do some of these things? These things were very effective against them,’” Martin said.
That’s why the emphasis this week will be less about the opponent and more about Miami.
The RedHawks have to restore the defensive discipline that Martin believes has defined the program, establish some semblance of a running game and eliminate self-inflicted mistakes.
Miami was penalized nine times for 78 yards at Pitt. It didn’t force a turnover and managed only 289 total yards compared with Pitt’s 646.
Special teams provided one of the few areas Martin felt could translate immediately.
Smith’s 55-yard opening kickoff return was part of an impressive debut for the Pittsburgh native. Martin said Miami’s kickoff-return blocking was good enough to compete against Pitt and that two of Smith’s three returns were particularly well blocked.
The punt coverage also performed well even though Martin wasn’t pleased with the actual punting.
Those flashes now have to become complete possessions and complete quarters.
Saturday also begins an important two-week stretch.
After Holy Cross, Miami travels to Cincinnati for the annual Battle for the Victory Bell on Sept. 19, giving the RedHawks another opportunity against a Power Four opponent. Miami then hosts Connecticut before beginning Mid-American Conference play in October.
Martin believes everything Pitt exposed — footwork, physicality, eye discipline, pursuit angles and communication — can ultimately make Miami better when it returns to a bigger stage.
But only if the RedHawks respond correctly.
“How you react is everything,” Martin said. “This is life. Saturday sucked. But if you learn and grow from it and you get way better from it, then maybe you look back on Saturday at some point and say this really, really kind of helped us.”
Martin doesn’t want Miami dwelling on 59-14.
He doesn’t want anyone forgetting it, either.
“If everybody takes accountability from head coach to your last player and tries to look at it like, ‘What could I have done?’ then you get to grow in a hurry,” Martin said. “We will not let that happen” — allowing one bad afternoon to become the start of a bad season.
Miami’s first chance to prove it comes Saturday at Yager Stadium.
“We have to worry about ourselves,” Martin said. “We’re going to focus on ourselves and be excited to play Holy Cross and go try to win a football game.”
