Malachi Toney started his sophomore campaign with a statement.
No. 7 Miami (1-0, 1-0 ACC ) put on an impressive performance, putting the country on notice with a dominant win over Stanford, 42-6 . It's the largest conference win for the Hurricanes since 2020.
On the very first drive to open up Miami's season, Toney recorded three catches for 75 yards and capped it off with a touchdown. This was only the beginning of what would be a night Miami fans will remember.
The first of three touchdowns was a beauty by star quarterback Darian Mensah, showing a strong connection with the superstar sophomore. A defender came unblocked, and he had to get rid of the ball immediately, throwing it with anticipation to Toney for the 23-yard touchdown.
"It's amazing, man. Every weekend we just keep getting better," Toney said when asked about his chemistry with his new quarterback. "The sky is the limit. There is no limit, actually."
Toney ended the first quarter with five receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns, and he didn't stop there. He nearly repeated the same stat line in the second quarter with five receptions for 93 yards.
He is very confident with his new quarterback already and it showed early in the season opener.
Toney's previous career-high in receiving yards was against Virginia Tech last season when he recorded 146 yards.
He surpassed that in the first game of the season, during the first half. He capped off his incredible first-half performance with ten receptions, 182 yards, and two touchdowns.
Since 2021, two FBS players have recorded 10 or more catches, 180 or more receiving yards, and two or more receiving touchdowns in the first half of a game: Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith and Malik Nabers.
The Hurricanes' star wide receiver became the third.
"We knew he was gonna be better; he gained about 10 pounds of muscle," head coach Mario Cristobal said of Toney. He then went on to reference how much of a leader he is in the locker room and Toney's approach to the game in his post-game interview with Scott Van Pelt .
Toney began the second half with a 47-yard touchdown reception from Mensah, which officially broke the single-game receiving record for the Hurricanes. Eddie Brown had 220 yards in 1984 against Boston College, which stood as the record for Miami for 42 years.
Toney now sits atop that record with his 234-yard performance to open up the season at Stanford.
In Cristobal's post-game presser with the media , he mentioned how his star wide receiver loves to make an impact on the game without the ball as well.
"As much as he loves touching the ball, believe me or not, that dude is just as happy sticking his face in there and blocking for the running backs to get free," Cristobal said. "I know he's talented, but you're not going to outwork Malachi Toney."
Receivers rarely win the Heisman, but Toney is built differently and has the potential to break a trend. Last year, he did a bit of everything, including throwing two touchdowns, and this season he could add more to his Heisman case with more than just receiving TDs.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/miami as Malachi Toney Launches His Heisman Case With Career Night at Stanford .
