00:00So yesterday, as the day started getting along there,
00:03I started getting text messages that Malachi Tony had suffered an injury
00:07in practice yesterday, and the news came out and broke
00:11that he has a high ankle sprain and will need surgery.
00:13It will probably sideline him for the next month
00:16and then most likely get an opportunity to get him back
00:19if the Canes are fortunate enough to make the 12-team college football playoff.
00:23People were already starting to say, wow, Canes are cooked.
00:28Take a look at the point spread.
00:30Already gone up another point.
00:31It's seven and a half now.
00:33You got everything on the side of Notre Dame.
00:37Here's what I say to this conversation here.
00:39Well, guess what, guys?
00:41Next guy up.
00:43I want the conversation to start to end here with this.
00:47People keep asking me, why and when are the Canes going to be back?
00:52Well, this is it.
00:53We never worried about injuries if Michael Irvin went down
00:56because we had superstar players on our roster.
01:00And the next guys were supposed to step in and step up.
01:03Hey, look, really tough break for the kid because the kid was one of the leading candidates
01:08for the Heisman Trophy, and I totally understand this.
01:11But, man, if you want to go win a national championship,
01:14this is Darian Mensah moment.
01:16This is a chance for you to solidify yourself, not only as the Heisman Trophy winner,
01:21but potentially also as the number one overall pick in the draft.
01:26This is also a moment for Mario Cristobal and his coaching staff.
01:30You want to know if the Canes are back?
01:32Well, let's see what they do on Saturday.
01:34Let's check their performance out on Saturday and how they play without Malachi Tony.
01:40Your football team has to be, again, deep with 85 guys that you can trust.
01:46And no question, back in the day, we never worried about injuries.
01:49That stuff never was a factor if somebody went out or not because we knew we were the better roster.
01:55We knew we were the better football team, and this is a moment for the Hurricanes on Saturday
02:00to show that that program is actually back.
02:03Hey, just because you go and take the bar exam doesn't make you a lawyer.
02:07Last year, people were like, wow, isn't that great they got to the national championship game?
02:12That doesn't mean you're back, man.
02:13That means you were in the moment.
02:15Being back is being on a consistent conveyor belt where you're constantly in that spotlight all the time,
02:21and it's really kind of a misnomer when you're not in that spotlight.
02:25So this is a moment on Saturday.
02:28Now, on the other hand, for Notre Dame, what's your excuses?
02:32No Malachi Tony.
02:34You're at home.
02:36Everyone's saying you're going to win.
02:39This is a Notre Dame moment.
02:41Hey, you were 11th in the recent college football rankings.
02:4611th.
02:47That means you're outside the party right now.
02:50Well, guess what?
02:51Here's your moment.
02:52There's no excuses now for Marcus Freeman and his guys.
02:57Man, if I was a player in this football game for the Hurricanes, I couldn't wait for Saturday to control
03:04my energy,
03:05to be able to go out and stand out in a crowd.
03:08This is why you go to UM.
03:10This is why you go to Notre Dame.
03:12For moments like this, to go out and stand out in that crowd.
03:16I don't want to hear excuses about players going down.
03:20Go play 60 minutes of football.
03:22Go show you're the better team in the country.
03:25A lot of people are questioning both teams' schedules.
03:29Take a look at the schedules.
03:30They're not Southeastern Conference schedules.
03:32I happen to agree with that.
03:34Look at the players and people that they've played on that schedule.
03:38That's not a daunting schedule that they've played.
03:42Well, you got Notre Dame this weekend.
03:44Well, go play.
03:45And let's go play 60 minutes.
03:47Both teams.
03:48I don't want to hear any excuses.
03:50Hey, come Monday, when we go on the air and we're talking to you,
03:54I don't want to hear, well, Miami didn't have Malachi Tony.
03:57Well, then you're not a top-flight program if you're relying on one kid.
04:01I get it.
04:02Those guys make differences and can change the game for you.
04:06But no question, you've got to go play a football game on Saturday,
04:10with or without the kid.
04:12You can't sit there and lick your wounds on it and say,
04:15well, you know, we really didn't have all of our bullets on our gun.
04:18That's not championship football.
04:21When we were playing for Jimmy Johnson, that stuff never mattered.
04:26We knew we were champions because of the players we had in our locker room.
04:30This goes for both sides of the football.
04:32No excuses for Notre Dame,
04:34and there are no excuses for the Hurricanes.
04:37You want to prove that you're a championship team
04:39and a caliber team to go win the national championship?
04:42This is a moment that you have to go out and do it.
