When the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes come to Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night, star wide receiver Malachi Toney will not be in uniform as he suffered a high ankle sprain that will keep him out at least a month.

While Toney has already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark and has hauled in 13 touchdown receptions in 2026. Toney put up 82 yards and a touchdown in his collegiate debut against Notre Dame last season, but Miami's offense still has more firepower than almost any other, even without the Heisman Trophy contender.

While Notre Dame doesn't have to account for a top two receiver in the sport, it does have to account for a whole lot else still.

Clemson Game a Blueprint for Miami without Toney

It's not like this Miami team only has success if Toney has success, in fact that is the total opposite of the truth.

When Miami played Clemson earlier this season it handed the Tigers its worst home loss under Dabo Swinney, 41-13.

Toney had to have gone off, right?

Not so fast, my friend.

Toney was contained to five receptions for 40 yards that night while being credited with one carry that went for 19 yards.

Now, that's certainly not a "nothing" performance, but for a player who has gone over 100 receiving yards five times this season, it's noticeable.

Miami was able to run the ball, averaging mor than five yards per carry that night, and star quarterback Darian Mensah didn't put the ball in harms way, completing 66% of his pass attempts and averaging 8.4 yards each time he dropped back.

Cooper Barkate's 61-yard touchdown reception early set the tone, but Mensah did a good job of spreading the love that night, as Miami put up 41 points.

Stopping Miami's Run Game Still Key for Notre Dame

Miami's run game was on fire that night, averaging over five yards per carry. Mark Fletcher is back for another year and doing well. Still, freshman Javian Mallory has emerged as a big-time playmaker, averaging seven yards per carry and scoring seven times this season.

As much as football has changed, running the football has remained key all this time.

Can you run it and can you stop it?

Nobody has bottled up Miami's run game more than Pittsburgh this season, as the Panthers allowed just 3.1 yards per carry against when the two met back on October 24.

However, the Panthers had no answer to the Miami passing game as Mensah went off for 387 yards and averaged more than 10 yards each time he dropped back.

It's also worth noting Toney hauled in an absurd 16 receptions for 194 yards and three touchdowns in that 52-23 victory.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought

I tend to watch as much college football as I can each Saturday and not nearly as much NFL as most on Sunday. I often forget that I'm in the minority when it comes to that and it takes an injury like Toney's for me to realize it.

There is this thought that Toney is out and that his absense will somehow take away the weight of a Notre Dame win in some way or another.

Yes, he's one of the biggest names in the sport, but Notre Dame is playing without as many as five starters on defense. Does that not matter?

The ugly part of football is that it lends itself to injuries, and that's not changing anytime soon.

Unfortunately this isn't a sport that you can just turn injuries off for like its some kind of video game. If you could, you would have in 2024 if you're Notre Dame, and you then have a lot better chance of beating Ohio State in the national championship game.

What I'm trying to say is that Miami still has plenty of talent on offense, even with Toney out. Is Notre Dame's depth great enough to still slow it down on Saturday night?