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Was Miami convincing enough Saturday?

That’s the only adjective that matters.

Miami beat Pittsburgh 38-7. It won its final four games. It finished 10-2 on the season. It also left the field wondering what everyone was wondering:

Could they get a little help, please?

No. 8 Oklahoma almost lost to LSU before coming back to win Saturday, and No. 10 Alabama escaped Auburn later that night. That leaves Miami hoping No. 9 Notre Dame loses later Saturday to open an at-large spot in the playoff. Or, after their chances of reaching the ACC championship game evaporated, they’d need the 12-member voting committee to change its mind.

So, now the fun starts. The politicking. The finger-pointing. This is the worst part of the college postseason, this loud stretch until Tuesday’s next vote by the committee as Miami will pound the fact it beat Notre Dame in the season opener and is ranked below Notre Dame.

“The best part of football is you get to settle it on the field where Head-to-head is always the No. 1 criteria,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said after Saturday’s win, just as he should. Just as Miami should pound, too.

But there’s something worse than the politicking right now. It’s wanting to pound the homer table for Miami and being unable to do it. Yes, it beat Notre Dame on the final play. All things being equal, that would be the tiebreaker.

But all things aren’t equal, not really, considering Miami …

… lost to unranked Louisville and SMU, who after clambering to No. 21, also will likely be unranked after losing to Cal late Saturday.

… won’t even make the ACC Championship Game (and could finish in a four-way tie for third place).

… had a schedule with a CFP-high eight home games, will have played one top-25 team by the time the final rankings come out (Notre Dame), faced two of the other top six ACC teams (SMU, Pitt) and still had two losses.

Notre Dame won at Pitt two weeks ago, 37-15. How does that compare to Miami’s win Saturday? Does either get style points here?

Can’t we just talk about how Malachi Toney? There’s someone everyone can agree on.  He might have wrapped up the 2026 Heisman Trophy with another electric game on Saturday.

Toney threw a 9-yard touchdown, caught a 22-yard touchdown and was a running touchdown away from a spectacular hat trick.

As it was, Toney had 13 catches for 126 yards. That gave him 84 catches, one behind Xavier Restrepo’s school record of 85 in a season.

Miami did more than flash Toney’s rare talent again Saturday. It went into the trenches and whipped Pitt. It controlled the ball offensively behind Carson Beck completing 23 of 29 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. It controlled the game defensively right from the start as Pitt was minus-12 yards after its first two drives.

Miami even showed the kind of on-field discipline that’s been lacking some moments. Twice on a third-quarter drive, Pitt players acted up after crucial stops to merit unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties. Miami took advantage of that with Mark Fletcher’s touchdown run to end a 75-yard drive for a 24-7 lead.

The Hurricanes looked at their best Saturday. Can that matter some? Mario Cristobal will press that point right to Tuesday’s vote. Just as he should. Before the game, ESPN’s Nick Saban went on the offense for Miami.

“If they get in this playoff, they’re going to be the most dangerous team that anybody has to play because of the talent level,’’ Saban said.

The former Alabama coach knows a few things about championships. He also knows how to come to the aid of a former assistant like Cristobal.

Saban’s point underlines the shame of it all. Miami does have great talent. It would be dangerous in the playoff.

Miami is a team the committee wants in, too. Don’t talk about some conspiracy theory or how everyone has hated Miami for years. That’s nonsense. Why was Miami-Notre Dame a prime-time showcase of the opening weekend? Why did Miami jump an idle Vanderbilt and close-win Utah on successive weeks? (Vanderbilt tops Miami on the outrage-meter. Its only two losses are on the road at Alabama and Texas).

“That’s a College Football Playoff team,” Cristobal said. “We’ve all seen it. We know it.”

It was Saturday. It’s been so many weeks. It just had two bad weeks that might keep them out.