Malachi Toney and a breakout star help save Miami Hurricanes against rival Florida State on a chaotic day in college football
The Canes got two massive performances to escape FSU on Saturday.
The Miami Hurricanes found a way to do something many top 10 teams did not do on Saturday: win. And it was not pretty at times and was more of a struggle than it probably should have been, but the Canes dug down and found a way to survive, beating rival Florida State 43-35 in double overtime on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
And sometimes, it takes anyone, anyhow, and anyway, to get it done. And the Canes found a familiar hero and a new one to help claim victory on a day where Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, Alabama, and Texas all lost, with the Bulldogs and Longhorns losing to unranked Auburn and Florida, respectively.
Malachi Toney went absolutely bonkers, turning 11 catches into 154 yards and two touchdowns. He pivoted in the end zone and pulled in a back shoulder pass just ahead of the corner for the final touchdown of the game. Seconds later, he took a pitch, rolled right, and threw a strike to Cooper Barkate for the two-point conversion. Miami’s defense would hold on, barely, with Bryce Fitzgerald leaping to intercept the ball on 4th and 31 to seal the win.
It would, of course, take the best from their best player to win on this night. But it also took a breakout performance from a far less heralded player nationally. True freshman running back Javian Mallory was the engine for Miami’s second half comeback and overtime victory. He saw his carries pick up in the second half, and he turned 13 carries into 108 yards and two touchdowns.
His biggest moment came in the first overtime with MIami down 35-28. He took a handoff left, got past a defender on a crushing block from TE Elija Lofton juked a defender, and turned on the jets to the end zone for a 25-yard score to tie the game at 35.
When asked after the game if he could envision himself having this big a role in this rivalry, Mallory, who played at West Boca Raton, said that’s what he expected coming in.
“Honestly, yes, I did. If y’all go back, there’s an interview. It’s asking me what I’m going to bring to the table my first year, and I said I’m going to be an instant impact as soon as I get here. Of course, it took me some time to get here, but I give God all the glory.”
And an instant impact he had. Miami quite possibly doesn’t win without him on Saturday night. Without question, Mallory’s future is blindingly bright with the program, and we should see him carve out an even bigger role in the Miami offense in the second half of the season.
