Miami's Malachi Toney needs ankle surgery and will miss Saturday's game at Notre Dame

Miami will play its biggest game of the season without its best receiver. Malachi Toney has a high ankle sprain and will have surgery, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Wednesday night, which rules him out of Saturday's game at Notre Dame.

Miami said Toney was hurt during Wednesday's practice. CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz also reported the high ankle sprain and the planned surgery, and said the program hopes Toney can return for a playoff run. ESPN reports that this injury usually takes at least four weeks to come back from, and the first round of the College Football Playoff is six weeks away.

What Miami loses

Toney, a sophomore, has 73 catches for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns. His catch total leads all Power 4 receivers, and he had been a Heisman Trophy contender for a team that debuted at No. 1 in the first CFP rankings Tuesday.

His share of the offense is hard to replace. CBS Sports has Toney with 35.1% of Miami's receptions, 38.6% of its receiving yards and 46.4% of its receiving touchdowns. Cooper Barkate is second on the team with 28 catches for 372 yards and four touchdowns.

Miami leads the country at 47.6 points per game behind quarterback Darian Mensah, so the offense won't stop without him. But as CBS Sports points out, Notre Dame no longer has to build its plan around one receiver, and it can put more defenders near the line against Mark Fletcher Jr. and Javian Mallory, Miami's top two running backs.

Last year's matchup

Toney broke out in last season's opener against Notre Dame, catching six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in Miami's 27-24 win.