Kirk Herbstreit predicts Malachi Toney injury will be 'motivator' for Miami against Notre Dame

Ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated matchup against Notre Dame, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney suffered an injury in practice. That means the Hurricanes will be without their top target after he underwent tightrope ankle surgery, as On3’s Pete Nakos reported. But to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, Miami might be able to turn Toney’s absence into a rallying cry. He thinks the Hurricanes will instead go into Notre Dame Stadium with a chip on their shoulder and prove they can win even without their do-it-all wide receiver. $39.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage Toney enters Week 10 with 1,027 receiving yards, the third-most in the FBS, and is tied for second in the nation with 13 touchdowns. But in his absence, Herbstreit noted other playmakers such as Cooper Barkate who will need to step up and fill the void. “One thing I know from being around Mario Cristobal and this Miami program, kind of the culture, they’re going to use this in a way that the players are going to get fired up,” Herbstreit said Friday on Get Up. “They’re going to feel like, ‘Hey, we’ve got something to prove.’ They’ve got plenty of athletes on the outside. Cooper Barkate, who transferred over from Duke with Mensah, the quarterback, he’ll have to take up a little bit more slack. Watch on Fubo (Try for Free) “But I almost don’t think this is about Xs and Os. There’s so much anticipation, hype for this game that I think Miami is going to use this as a motivator. … When I heard Malachi Toney was out, I was like, ‘Oh, well.’ I think Miami’s going to use that as a rally-the-troops, ‘We’re more than just one guy,’ kind of things.” Miami heads into Saturday as one of the only undefeated teams left in the FBS and sits atop the initial College Football Playoff rankings. Notre Dame, meanwhile, debuted at No. 11 in the first Top 25, meaning the matchup has plenty of implications for the Fighting Irish. Of course, the two teams were also at the center of last year’s CFP bracket after Notre Dame missed out and Miami was the last team in the field. They also played during the 2025 regular season – a Hurricanes victory in Week 1. While Kirk Herbstreit said it’ll be interesting to see how the Miami offense changes without Toney, he thinks the Hurricanes will still come out firing. They will look to show they can get the job done even without their top playmaker. “[At the] end of the day, when the Xs and Os play out and the scheme plays out, we’ll see if it’s enough to win,” Herbstreit said. “But I don’t expect them to just come in here limping in. I think this will be an incredibly motivated football team. “Can they do it [without] Malachi? We’ll find out. I think we’re going to see a very inspired Hurricanes team take the field on Saturday.”