- Marcus Freeman said there were positives to build on but emphasized the need to fix mistakes with urgency.
- Freshman quarterback CJ Carr flashed his playmaking ability but also made first-start mistakes.
- The Irish shifted away from early RPO reads to get Jeremiah Love more involved in the run game.
- Freeman called out the defensive line, saying the unit must be more dominant in both pass rush and run defense.
- Notre Dame’s captains earned praise for stepping up vocally in tough moments.
- Turnovers and the lack of defensive takeaways ultimately swung the game in Miami’s favor.
Notre Dame’s 2025 season opener ended in frustration as the Irish fell in heartbreaking fashion to 6th-ranked Miami in a game that felt a lot like many Notre Dame games from the past prior to last season’s breakout. A late comeback tied the game in the fourth, but the Irish defense couldn’t stop the Hurricane offense one last time, allowing a 47-yard field goal with just over a minute left to fall 27-24. Afterward, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman emphasized that his team showed resilience, but left far too much on the table.
“There’s obviously a lot out there that we didn’t do well, but there are some things we did do well, and we got to build on the things that we did do well and fix with urgency the things we didn’t,” Freeman said in his opening remarks. “It’s the first game of the year versus a heck of an opponent. We obviously got a new quarterback starting, and we got to do things to try to help him figure his way out. And defensively, we got to be better in crucial parts of the game.”
CJ Carr’s First Test Under the Lights
All eyes were on freshman quarterback CJ Carr in his first career start, and he delivered both promise and rookie mistakes. Freeman made it clear his confidence in Carr remains high.
“He’s going to be a really good quarterback. Everything that I’ve thought he was going to be,” Freeman said. “His ceiling is so high. He’s going to have to learn to take this loss and not let it beat him up too much because he’s an ultra-competitor. But he’s a gamer, man. He performs when the lights are on.”
Carr’s most memorable moment came on a wild scramble touchdown where he spun away from pressure before finding freshman wideout Micah Gilbert in the end zone for a no-look touchdown pass. Freeman admitted his own inner dialogue was racing.
“Throw it away. Throw it away. Throw it away. I was like, throw it away. And then, oh, great job,” Freeman said with a smile. “Those are plays like we don’t draw them up like that, but those are plays that CJ Carr can make.”
Balancing the RPOs and Establishing the Run
Notre Dame’s early game plan leaned heavily on short passes and RPOs, but as the game went on, Freeman and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock looked to simplify.
“We started to say later in the game that stop reading it, hand the ball to (Jeremiyah) Love, and we need to establish this run game,” Freeman explained. “He was doing what he was coached to do on a lot of those pulls and throwing. But there’s times we got to take away the read and say just hand the ball to your running backs.”
By halftime, Freeman said the staff made a deliberate shift. “We made an intentional effort at halftime to say, okay, let’s either take away some of those reads or find intentional ways to get the ball in [Jeremiah Love’s] hands, and he made some good things happen.”
Notre Dame fans might disagree that an intentional effort was made to run the ball after halftime. Love recorded just 10 carries on the night, while Jadarian Price had just six. A combined 16 carries for the one-two punch, regarded as one of the best in the country, was an inexcusable use of resources by offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock.
Defensive Line Struggles
If there was one area Freeman circled for immediate improvement, it was the lack of consistent pressure on Miami quarterback Carson Beck.
“They were protecting. We got to be better with our four-man rushes,” Freeman said. “You’re not going to be really successful on defense if you can’t get pressure on the quarterback with four-man rushes. I want the defensive line to be more dominant. My expectation for that unit is to dominate the game in the run and the pass, put pressure on the quarterback, and stop the run. Credit to Miami, we weren’t able to do that.”
Notre Dame registered just one sack on the night, and for the most part, Beck had all day to throw. The few times Notre Dame did get pressure, Beck made some interceptable throws, including the miraculous one-handed touchdown grab by CJ Daniels. Much like Carr’s “no no yes” touchdown pass, that was a throw that gets intercepted more often than it’s caught. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, Daniels made one of the best catches you’ll ever see.
The lack of pressure led to several third-and-long conversions through the first three quarters, including a touchdown on third and 10 for Miami’s first score of the game.
Irish Refuse to Quit
Despite the struggles, Notre Dame clawed back to tie the game in the fourth quarter before Miami’s decisive kick. Freeman was quick to highlight his team’s resolve.
“These dudes, they’ll never quit,” Freeman said. “They believe, they trust. They know they’re never out of the fight. I could look in their eye and they said, ‘Coach, we need one more stop. We need one more score and let’s watch what happens.’ We thought it was going to finish differently than it did, but we’ll be in that situation again. We’ll learn from it and I’ll trust our guys will execute.”
Notre Dame didn battle back from a 21-7 deficit when things looked bleak to tie it at 24 late, but one quarter of sound football didn’t make up for the first three of miscues.
Leadership in Adversity
Freeman also pointed to the voices of Notre Dame’s captains in the huddle when things were slipping away.
“You heard our captains, and that’s their job. That comes with the title, right? If your team votes you captain, there’s a responsibility to uphold that title,” Freeman explained. “So many people want titles, but they don’t want the responsibility that title entails. I’m proud of the way they stepped up and really lived out the title they’ve been given.”
Turnovers Swing the Game
Ultimately, Notre Dame’s own turnovers and the lack of defensive takeaways proved decisive.
“We got to create more takeaways on defense,” Freeman said. “We pride ourselves in being able to create takeaways. We didn’t create any. We got to be intentional about it. More importantly, we got to take care of football. That’s a week one emphasis, it’s a total season emphasis. The majority of teams that win the turnover margin week one are going to win that game. And we just didn’t win it today.”
Notre Dame led the nation in takeaways last season, but didn’t register a single one Sunday night. Beck threw a couple of ill-advised passes, but Notre Dame never made him pay. The Irish defense didn’t knock a single ball out of a Miami player’s hands either.
Moving Forward
Notre Dame leaves Miami with a loss, but not without lessons. The Irish showed some resilience in rallying back, but the mistakes Freeman outlined — turnovers, inconsistent pass rush, and uneven execution in the run game — were too much to overcome and will lead to a lot of second-guessing for the next two weeks. Notre Dame didn’t look prepared to start the game – a stark contrast to last season’s run to the playoffs. With a bye week before the next opponent, the Irish have time to regroup, and Freeman made it clear he believes his team will.
“We’ll be in that situation again,” he said. “We’ll learn from it.”
