Malachi Toney injury shakes up Heisman odds for Jeremiah Smith

Malachi Toney injury reshapes Heisman race as Jeremiah Smith, Darian Mensah gain momentum.

Miami star wide receiver Malachi Toney suffered a high ankle sprain during practice that will require surgery.

He will miss the rest of the regular season, though he could return for the College Football Playoff.

Toney was one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy, widely expected to be a finalist in New York.

His absence opens the door for other contenders in a race that was already tightly contested.

The player who benefits most might be his own teammate, quarterback Darian Mensah.

Toney and Mensah formed an electric duo that was going to split Heisman votes.

Now Mensah can make a solo push for the award, starting Saturday night against No. 11 Notre Dame.

On the other side of that matchup, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr can assert himself against Mensah.

Carr has been holding steady behind the top tier of favorites for a while.

This game against the Hurricanes may be his best shot to impress Heisman voters.

Then there is Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State wide receiver who was the clear frontrunner until his own quarterback, Julian Sayin, got injured.

Sayin is out indefinitely with an injury, leaving true freshman Luke Fahey as the starter.

Many assumed Smith's Heisman hopes would fade without a proven quarterback throwing him the ball.

But now that Smith won't have to keep up with Toney's torrid pace, his path to college football's greatest individual honor is wide open.

Smith has been the only consistent part of Ohio State's offense this year.

Without him, the Buckeyes would have three or more losses.

To this point in the season, Smith has 62 catches for 1,067 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Those stats are fifth, second, and second in the country, respectively.

While it was widely accepted that Smith is the best receiver in the country, there is no doubt about that now that Toney is hurt.

Toney played for the number-one-ranked team in the country, Miami.

Playing for the undefeated Hurricanes was the main argument Toney had over Smith.

Winning was Toney's best argument, and now he cannot put up the requisite stats.

Toney is by far the best weapon that the Hurricanes have.

With him out, perhaps Miami will start to drop some games.

That could help Ohio State's argument for a higher seed in the College Football Playoff.

Of course, Ohio State has to make the CFP first.

If they drop another game, they likely will be left out.

They do not have the juice with the rest of the schedule to make up ground.

However, beating Oregon on Saturday would give them another ranked victory.

The Buckeyes suffered their second loss of the season against USC last week.

Smith scored a touchdown in that loss.

Ohio State received a No. 12 ranking in the first College Football Playoff top 25 list.

If the Buckeyes are going to win the rest of their games, they need Smith to play like the best player in the country.

He is by far the best weapon that they have on the offense, and they need him now more than ever with Luke Fahey as the starting quarterback.

Even if Fahey gets replaced by Tavien St. Clair at some point, the Buckeyes still need Smith to be the unstoppable force he has been all year.

That is the only way that the offense is going to be good enough to not just make the College Football Playoff, but have a shot to win a title.

Smith is the best receiver that the Ohio State football program has ever had.

The stakes of Saturday night's showdown in South Bend were already sky-high.

They just became stratospheric for the quarterbacks.