Notre Dame and Miami meet on the gridiron for the first time in nearly a decade (2017). Marcus Freeman’s team enters this matchup fresh off a 14-2 season and loss in the national championship game. While Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes finished one spot out of the 12 team playoff. No cupcakes in week one again for the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame must travel to Miami to face a top-ten opponent in a primetime Sunday matchup!
When Notre Dame and Miami meet, history always looms large. From the infamous 1988 ‘Catholics vs. Convicts’ clash — a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in South Bend that propelled Lou Holtz’s Irish to a national title — to the Hurricanes’ lopsided win in 2017, this rivalry has swung with high stakes and national spotlight.
Essential Game Info:
- Game Time: Sunday, August 31st at 7:30 PM ET on ABC
- Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
- Matchup History: Notre Dame is 18-8-1 all-time against the Miami Hurricanes (Last Meeting 2017: Hurricanes won 41 to 8)
- Odds: Notre Dame -2.5
Game Details
- Conference: ACC
- Head Coach: Mario Cristobal
- 2024 Record: 10-3 (6-2)
- 2023 Record: 7-6 (3-5)
Miami Storylines:
The Irish and Hurricanes meet for the 1st time since 2017. Although Notre Dame has been playing five “ACC Games” a year, the Fighting Irish have only faced Miami twice in the last decade. In fact, the Hurricanes have not visited South Bend since 2016.
Notre Dame Football has only played the Hurricanes one time at Hard Rock Stadium (the program previously played at the Orange Bowl, which is now destroyed). Ironically, Coach Freeman and his program have experience at Hard Rock Stadium, after knocking off Penn State in the Orange Bowl last season.
Mario Cristobal is trying to rebuild the Hurricanes program. The University of Miami Football program has actually more NIL Money than one would expect from a fanbase that never sells out its stadium (similar to USC NIL Money). Nevertheless, they were able to get transfer QB Cam Ward last Fall, and now former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.
Transfer QB Carson Beck leads Hurricanes in Week One. In his 39 game career, Beck is 628 for 923 (68%) for 7,912 yards, 58 passing touchdowns, 20 interceptions. On the ground, the Miami Quarterback has 127 attempts for 245 yards (1.9 yards per carry) and 5 rushing scores.
Notre Dame Storylines:
The Fighting Irish will ride with CJ Carr. After a long quarterback battle, the Notre Dame sophomore beat out Kenny Minchey. Carr enters this matchup with no “in game” experience and is the biggest unknown of this week. If Notre Dame can continue the momentum from the second half of last season, Carr will not need to steal the show. But he must protect the football and be capable of getting the ball to the elite skill players on offense.
Jeremiyah Love returns with Heisman Potential. With the departure of Ashton Jentry to the NFL, Love is the best running back in the country. Even with the injury to Kedren Young, the Notre Dame Running Backs room is stacked. Behind Love is Jadrian Price, who would be the starter at most schools in the country.
Last season, Love had 163 carries for 1,125 yards (6.9 yards per attempt), with 17 rushing touchdowns. He also added 28 receptions for 237 yards, and 2 receiving scores. It was an outstanding campaign for only a sophomore that was not 100% the second half the season.
Chris Ash takes over as defensive coordinator in South Bend. As is normal for successful college football programs, Al Golden was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. Chris Ash has been at a lot of spots in both college and the NFL. Most notably, he was the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State (2014-15), Head Coach at Rutgers (2016-19), and the defensive coordinator at Texas (2020).
Coach Ash was left with a plethora of talent on the defensive side of the ball and will be tasked with keeping the Hurricanes Offense in check.
Head-to-Head Matchups:
Notre Dame Offense vs. Miami Defense: CJ Carr will be making his first career start on the road in a hostile environment. Although the Fighting Irish have perhaps the best offensive coordinator in the country, best running back, solid offensive line, and potentially best wide receiver unit in a while, the quarterback holds the most important position in sports.
The Hurricanes Defense struggled last year and oftentimes, the Offense had to “out score opponents”. It is difficult to predict how the Miami Defense will play in week one, with the support of a chaotic crow. As Notre Dame superfan Shane Gillis said, early in the season teams like Miami and Texas A & M are hard to play, because they still think they are good and competing for a national championship.
Advantage: Miami
Miami Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense: The Fighting Irish will face veteran quarterback Carson Beck. Ironically, Notre Dame missed out on a matchup with Beck when he was injured in the Sugar Bowl as the Georgia QB.
First year defensive coordinator Chris Ash inherits a plethora of talent, but will be tested right out of the gate with a top ten opponent.
Last season, Cam Ward was the entire Miami Offense. How will athleticism, and dual threat capabilities be missed with a pocket passing Carson Beck? I believe Notre Dame’s Defense will rise to the occasion.
Advantage: Notre Dame
Special Teams: Miami brought in place kicker Bert Auburn from Texas, many people will recognize him from the long hair and key field goal attempts during the Longhorn’s playoff run. In his career, Auburn is 66 for 86 (77%) with his longest conversion at 54 yards.
Conversely, the Irish brought in North Carolina transfer Noah Burnette, who is 49 for 62 (79%) with a career long conversion at 52 yards.
There is no distinct advantage this early in the season.
Advantage: Tie
My Prediction:
This matchup is giving me Notre Dame Texas A & M 2024 vibes. Coach Freeman is leading his team into a hostile environment and he will be facing a program that has never made the playoffs. I expect Miami fans to be hungry for a victory, especially considering many have not attended a game since Notre Dame last visited 8 years ago.
Notre Dame brings in an extremely talented and experienced football program into this matchup. But, the one position that lacks experience is at quarterback. CJ Carr must navigate through the ups and downs of the four quarters of football and prove he can be the quarterback to lead Notre Dame in 2025.
I believe that Mike Denbrock will rely heavily on the Irish rushing attack in this game, and CJ Carr will surprise fans with a few clutch throws.
After last year’s success under Marcus Freeman, I am very “bullish” on the Fighting Irish. I have Notre Dame winning by 11 points on Sunday Night.
Prediction: Notre Dame 31, Miami 20
Great summary! As a historical correction, the 1988 Catholics vs Convicts was #1 (U) v #4(ND). We didn’t reach the top of the polls until late in the season when WASU beat #1 UCLA. Had the Bruins won out, they would have played Big 10 in the Rose Bowl and ND may have missed out on the championship
I think Freeman is instilling a championship philosophy in this program.
Notre Dame’s offensive line will be vastly important in this game. I can’t wait for Sunday. I’ve been excited for this game since mid-January.
ND 20 Miami 17
ND rushing and D. save the day. Both QBs throw multiple picks.