As Miami gets ready to host Pitt on Saturday, one Panthers defender’s remarks about Malachi Toney have already stirred up memories of a very different pregame confidence test - the one Texas A&M failed last December.
Pitt cornerback Raion Strader sounded sure of himself when he was asked about Toney and the challenge ahead. Strader said, "He's a really good player, real dynamic player.
But I think we have a great scheme for him. I think we'll go in and just play how we play, keep playing aggressive.
You've got to let the chips fall where they may. We believe in ourselves, we're real confident on the defensive side and we're going to bring it to him."
Strader, a senior who leads Pitt with three interceptions and five pass breakups, is projected to see plenty of snaps against Toney when No. 1 Miami faces the Panthers.
The tone of that exchange brought back another highly confident pregame quote from Texas A&M before its College Football Playoff first-round meeting with Miami last year. The most widely discussed line came from offensive tackle Trey Zuhn III, who was asked about Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr.
After the committee set the matchup, Zuhn said: "I don't think he'll be a threat that we need to worry about too much. We have great players, we've got a great offensive line, so we will be able to handle him."
Bain answered with a huge performance in Miami's 10-3 victory, finishing with three sacks, four tackles for loss and a blocked field goal. Miami’s defense piled up seven sacks overall, and Toney dealt a final blow after losing a fumble earlier in the second half by scoring the game-winning 11-yard touchdown with under two minutes left.
Now Pitt is trying to handle Miami a different way. Head coach Pat Narduzzi said the answer is not to simply load up on Toney.
"It's not like they've got Malachi Toney and nobody else," Narduzzi said. "You double him, they'll run the ball down your throat...
Best thing to do is be sound against him, know where he is and play good football. That's what we do."
Toney has been central to Miami’s offense this season, catching 50 passes for 758 yards and eight touchdowns through six games. He also played a part in last season’s meeting between these teams, when he had 13 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown in Miami’s 38-7 win.
In Other News...
BYU Faces A Complicated Ranking Drop After Costly Upset
Miami had no trouble staying put at No. 1 in the AP college football rankings after handling Pittsburgh, with quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney again helping set the tone. The Hurricanes keep looking like the standard at the top, while the rest of the national picture got a shakeup behind them.
BYUs double-overtime loss to unranked UCF is expected to send the Cougars tumbling after they entered the weekend at No. 2, and Ohio State appears poised to move up into the No. 2 spot. What happens after that is less clear, with Notre Dame, Indiana and Georgia all in the mix for the top six and the final order depending on how pollsters weigh a messy weekend around the country. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Faces One Growing CFP Problem Despite Holding No 1
Miami held onto the No. 1 spot in the latest AP Top 25, collecting 59 first-place votes and keeping its place atop the sport as the College Football Playoff picture continues to sharpen. Ohio State moved up to No. 2 after overtaking BYU, while Texas made the weeks biggest climb among the contenders after its win over Ole Miss. Elsewhere in the poll, USC and Iowa fell out after losses, and Oklahoma State and Wisconsin moved into the rankings.
For Miami, the ranking is a reminder that being first is only part of the equation at this stage of the season. The Hurricanes are still in position to control their own path, but every shift around them matters as the field tightens and the margin for error shrinks. With Ohio State surging and Texas now pushing upward, Miamis hold on the top line may be secure for the moment, but the broader CFP pressure is only getting heavier. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Raised The Stakes For Everyone Chasing Them
Week 8 turned into a shakeup weekend across college football, and Miami came out of it with even more momentum than it had going in. The Hurricanes rolled past Pittsburgh to improve to 7-0, then moved to No. 1 in the AP poll as several teams ahead of them stumbled around the country, from BYU and Texas Tech to Iowa.
For Miami, the ranking is only part of the story. The bigger takeaway is how quickly the chase group is thinning out, with Indiana and Alabama escaping their own scares while others fell outright, and that kind of chaos tends to sharpen the spotlight on a program that has suddenly made itself the standard everyone else is trying to catch. [Read more 🡒]