Marcus Freeman’s warning about Malachi Toney already sounded over the top. Now the latest injury update makes it look even more out of place.
Toney is expected to miss at least a month after tightrope surgery on his ankle, with the earliest possible return date landing on the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5. The early recovery window has been described as 4-6 weeks, which at least leaves the door open for a comeback later this season and possibly the College Football Playoff.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Toney did not travel with Miami to South Bend because doctors said it was too soon for him to take a flight after the surgery. Thamel said, “I was told he was completely gutted by that,” and added, “He wanted to be here. He'll be watching at home with a heavy heart.”
That leaves Miami without one of its biggest weapons for now, but this is also the Hurricanes’ final road game of the regular season. That means Toney will be back around the local trainers, doctors and rehab specialists once the team returns home, which should help him get moving in the right direction.
Desmond Howard also pointed to something Toney brings that doesn’t show up in the box score: his presence. Howard said, “To give our audience some perspective, it's not [just] about replacing the numbers,” and added, “Ever since he stepped on the campus in Coral Gables, he was a player that lifted and raised everyone’s confidence level.
And those guys are very, very rare. When you see No. 1, you're like, 'ok, we're good.'”
The surgery itself is not the long ordeal many people might assume. Dr.
Norman E. Waldrop III, a foot and ankle surgeon at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center, said the procedure takes around a half hour.
Waldrop called the tightrope “a game-changer in my practice in terms of how to manage this injury,” and said it “has really changed how we look at this injury.”
Waldrop also said a player can begin bearing weight on the ankle as soon as four days after surgery.
That matters because Toney is known for working relentlessly, and that can become a problem in rehab if he tries to push too hard too soon. Miami’s medical staff will have to keep a close eye on him so he can get back healthy without any lingering issues.
For Miami, the encouraging part is that all signs still point to Toney returning this season. For Freeman, the optics only get worse if the Hurricanes keep rolling without him.
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Miami Can Attack The One Notre Dame Flaw That Really Matters
Notre Dame arrives with the kind of defensive reputation that usually changes the tone of a matchup before kickoff, sitting first nationally in total defense. But the deeper numbers show a softer spot where Miami can make this game uncomfortable, because the Irish have struggled badly once opponents get inside the 20. Red-zone defense has been a problem all season, and that kind of weakness tends to matter most when the opponent has the ball-moving ability to keep drives alive.
Miami has been one of the nations most efficient offenses in that same area, turning red-zone chances into points at an elite rate. That makes the matchup inside the 20 especially important, even more so with Malachi Toney unavailable. If the Hurricanes can keep finishing drives instead of settling for empty possessions, they have a clear path to stress the one part of Notre Dames defense that has not matched its overall ranking. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Trying Everything To Rattle Miami Saturday Night
Notre Dame is pulling out a new kind of home-field wrinkle for Saturday nights matchup with Miami, turning to LED wristbands to help create a coordinated visual show inside the stadium. The technology, already familiar from big-time entertainment events, is new to college football and will let the crowds wristbands act like pixels, flashing words and images as part of the atmosphere.
Marcus Freeman has also made it clear he wants the noise level to be a factor, urging fans to make life difficult for Miamis offense. For the Hurricanes, that means walking into a setting built not just for pageantry, but for disruption, with the Irish trying every possible way to tilt the night in their favor. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Heads Into Notre Dame With A No. 1 Test Fans Feared
The top of the college football rankings has already been rattled, with No. 2 Ohio State falling to unranked USC and a few other highly ranked teams suddenly looking more vulnerable than they did a week ago. Miami now heads into Notre Dame carrying the burden that comes with being No. 1, and the timing is hardly ideal with a marquee road test looming and the rest of the sport reminding everyone how quickly a season can tilt.
The Hurricanes will have to navigate that challenge without star wide receiver Malachi Toney, who is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. For Miami, that adds another layer to a game that already felt like a measuring stick, especially with other contenders around the country facing their own pressure points and top-10 matchups, including Utah and BYU in a rivalry game with real stakes. [Read more 🡒]