South Bend, Ind. – With Notre Dame set to open the 2025 season in primetime at Hard Rock Stadium, head coach Marcus Freeman offered a detailed breakdown of what he expects from Miami. From the trenches to quarterback Carson Beck, Freeman made it clear the Hurricanes will be one of the toughest Week 1 tests in the country.
Quick Hits:
- Freeman called Miami “a very, very talented football team” coming off a 10-win season
- Praised head coach Mario Cristobal’s ability to acquire and develop talent
- Pointed to Miami’s offensive and defensive lines as the strength of the team
- Highlighted edge rushers Rueben Bain Jr. and Nigelique Kelly as “as good as you’ll see”
- Said QB Carson Beck makes “good decisions, fast decisions” and won’t let Miami take a step back offensively
- Noted Notre Dame is 0–6 in its last six trips to Miami
Respect for Mario Cristobal
Freeman opened by praising Miami’s program-building under Cristobal, drawing parallels to Notre Dame’s own identity.
“Very, very talented football team coming off a 10-win season. They’re well coached. I got a lot of respect for Coach Mario Cristobal through our previous conversations that we’ve had in the past and just seeing the success that he’s had in terms of acquiring talent, developing that talent and really producing a extremely good football team.”
Built in the Trenches
For Freeman, Miami looks familiar — a team built around offensive and defensive line play.
“They’re probably developed a little bit like I view our teams in terms of being O-line D-line driven. Their offensive line returning four starters and they got the the center that transferred in from TCU who has experience. Their D-line, I think, the number three and number four, Rueben Bain Jr. and Nyjalik Kelly, are as good as you’ll see coming off the edge. They move them inside. The depth of their D-line is impressive.”
Carson Beck at Quarterback
The Hurricanes added former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck this offseason, and Freeman expects little drop-off offensively.
“You got Carson Beck who is as experienced, talented, played in big games, as anybody will see as any quarterback in the country. We obviously evaluated him tremendously last year as we got ready for Georgia and he is a extremely good quarterback and makes good decisions, fast decisions. And so I won’t foresee them taking a step back offensively.”
Skill Talent and Transfers
Freeman also pointed to Miami’s influx of skill talent on both sides of the ball.
“They have a lot of young guys in the wide receivers room, but then they’ve gotten some experienced transfers. And then defensively in their DB’s room, I think they have about six transfers, but experienced. One of their corners as a freshman All-American that’s a good player. And the running back’s room is deep. I can go through their whole roster. We’ve had plenty of time to really evaluate that team. And so it’s going to be a great challenge, a great challenge for our program, Week 1.”
Notre Dame-Miami History
Freeman acknowledged the storied, sometimes contentious Notre Dame-Miami rivalry and Notre Dame’s struggles in Coral Gables.
“We’ve spent some time really looking at the rivalry of this game, which dates back to, I think, 1955, looking at some of the great wins by Notre Dame, but also some of the defeats. We were 0-6 the last six times we played down there. And so we know the challenge. We’ve been to Hard Rock Stadium, but the environment we know will be completely different than it was for the Orange Bowl. And so we’ll be prepared for that and we know the challenge that is at hand.”
What It Means
Notre Dame isn’t easing into 2025. Freeman made it clear Miami has the talent, depth, and physicality to test his team immediately. In his words, Sunday night will be “a great challenge” for the Irish program.
