'The U' is back at No. 1, but Miami's quest for a legacy worthy of nostalgia is just beginning

Miami hadn’t played as No. 1 in 24 years, and with its play and uniforms, ‘The U’ looked the part in its destruction of Pitt

Saturday's showdown between No. 1 Miami and Pittsburgh was not a normal occurrence, even though the two schools have a long-running history across multiple conferences. No, Saturday marked the first time since 2002 that Miami played a game as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll. For 24 years, Miami has been working to get back to the position it held near the end of its magical run through the early 2000s, and Saturday was the first time the Hurricanes could put their newly-minted No. 1 status to the test. Tensions have been tight, too, with No. 1 losing in back-to-back weeks. First, Texas lost to Oklahoma, then Georgia lost to Auburn, and now it's opened the door for the Hurricanes, who survived an upset scare against rival Florida State last week, to move up into the top spot.

But the way Miami performed in a 29-point rout of the Panthers quickly put to bed the idea that No. 1 would be changing hands again after Week 8. The Hurricanes were up 17-0 early and leading 31-7 at halftime, dropping three touchdowns after halftime for extra aesthetics on the 52-23 win. Miami's best players lived up to their billing, with Darian Mensah throwing for 387 yards on 31-of-37 passing with four touchdowns and Malachi Toney serving as