Malachi Toney vs. Leonard Moore is the showdown within the Miami vs. Notre Dame showdown

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — There's a subplot to No. 1 Miami vs. No. 4 Notre Dame this weekend.

It's Malachi Toney vs. Leonard Moore.

And that matchup might be just as noteworthy to college football fans as the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish squaring off with huge College Football Playoff implications.

Toney is the star wide receiver and dazzling Heisman Trophy candidate for the top-ranked Hurricanes (8-0), the go-to guy for the nation's best offense. Moore is the lockdown cornerback and quite possibly the top defensive player on a Fighting Irish (7-1) team that happens to have the top-ranked defense in the country. The teams meet Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium.

“I think if you ask both kids, they’re looking forward to playing against elite talent,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “I think guys like that appreciate people that master their craft the way the other one does. I don't know Leonard like I obviously know Mali, but there's a very humble approach to this game. He's an elite player but he also appreciates elite competitiveness. ... You're going to get people's respect when you're that level player."

The mutual admiration from both sides was evident this week.

“He's as good as there is out there,” Dawson said of Moore.

Added Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, when asked about Toney: “He's one of one.”

Toney's college debut came last season against Notre Dame in a 27-24 Miami victory that ultimately decided which team got the last at-large spot in the CFP field three months later. Toney had six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown — the one that opened the scoring.

Freeman didn't know much about Toney going into that game, other than he was still just 17 and should have been going into his senior year of high school. Toney reclassified to enter college a year early.

“Then you see him live, in person, and you go ‘Oh my gosh, he is the real deal,’" Freeman said. "And he wasn’t known on a college level — but after that game he was. He’s athletic, he’s fast, he runs good routes, he is competitive. And as you’ve watched him, he has even improved this year.”

Entering this week, nobody in college football has more catches than Toney's 182 since the start of last season. His next catch will give him outright possession of the No. 2 spot on Miami's all-time list; he's currently tied there with Mike Harvey, 18 catches behind school record-holder Xavier Restrepo's 200.

Toney isn't making much of the potential 1-on-1 matchup.

“It's an opportunity to get better," he said Tuesday. “That's what it is.”

Toney wears jersey No. 1; Moore wears jersey No. 15. The real story is No. 1 vs. No. 4, but 1 vs. 15 carries plenty of weight.

How much is Miami quarterback Darian Mensah looking forward to the matchup?

“Massively," Mensah said. "It’s a huge opportunity for 1 to go out and put on a show. I think he’s done it all year. Obviously, 15 is a great player and he’s going to win some plays.”

Moore was a unanimous All-American selection last season and has done nothing to suggest he won't be one again in 2026. He has seven interceptions and 23 pass breakups in his career; on the surface, they might not seem like huge numbers, but they become exceptional when considering that teams rarely try to test him.

“He is as gifted in his toolbox as I’ve been around,” Freeman said. “His toolbox is extremely large. He has a skill set to be able to play corner and play nickel, and I truly believe he could play safety. That’s the type of player he is. Mentally he can handle it, and physically. And that’s why he’s considered — if not the top — one of the top players in the country.”

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