Notre Dame Football Primer: #4 Irish host #1 Miami in the “Game of the Year”

The anticipation and hype surrounding this matchup feels like the 1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami game. Ticket prices might hit record prices for a regular season game and there is a lot of animosity between these two fanbases. For better or worse, College GameDay is heading to South Bend, in a monumental clash between two of the current national title favorites. Will the Irish fall to the Hurricanes once again, or rise to the occasion and assert themselves as the new #1 team in the country? The college football world will be watching Saturday Night!

Essential Game Info:

• Game Time: Saturday, November 7th at 7:30 PM on NBC
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
• Matchup History: Notre Dame Football is 18-9-1 all-time against Miami (Last Meeting 2025: Hurricanes won 27 to 24)
• Odds: Notre Dame -5.5

Details

• Conference: ACC
• Head Coach: Mario Cristobal
• 2026 Record: 8-0 (6-0)
• 2025 Record: 13-3 (6-2)

Weather Forecast:

At the time this article was written, the current forecast calls for a 23% chance of rain with a high of 52 degrees and low of 42.

Miami Storylines: 

The Hurricanes have looked beatable in recent weeks. In the Hurricane’s last three games they beat Florida State 43 to 35 (2OT), Pittsburgh 52 to 23, and North Carolina 38 to 35. There has not been a football team in the country all season. With NIL and the transfer portal, the disparity between football programs has been erased.

After making it to the national title last year and staring 8-0, they are deserving of their ranking, but the Irish will be by far the best team they have faced all season and whoever wins this matchup should be #1 next week.

Quarterback Darian Mensah leads the Miami Offense. The current Heisman front-runner is 188 for 233 (81%) with 2,425 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, and 9 sacks taken. On the ground, he has 24 attempts for 109 yards (4.5 yards per carry) with 2 rushing scores. 

His favorite receiving target, Malachi Toney, is also one of the Heisman favorites. Toney has 73 receptions for 1,027 yards (14 yards per catch) with 13 touchdowns.

Notre Dame Storylines: 

The Fighting Irish must be the more physical team. A few weeks ago, the BYU Cougars were not afraid of the challenge and had the Irish on their heels to start the game. Bear Bachmeier sacrificed his body, they got off to a fast start, ran trick plays, and used the environment to their advantage. 

It is evident that the Irish are the more desperate team on Saturday. The Hurricanes made the playoffs with two losses last year, will be in a conference title game, beat the Irish last year, and have no losses in 2026. The fans, players, and coaches all must treat this as a “playoff game”. 

This is CJ Carr’s time to shine in South Bend. The Notre Dame quarterback will undoubtedly be the biggest factor in winning and losing on Saturday. There are no more excuses. Last year at Miami was his first ever collegiate start on the road in front of an electric crowd. A few weeks ago, he went on the road and made several mistakes against the BYU Cougars. 

On Saturday, Carr will be playing in front of his home crowd in one of the best settings for college football. Make no mistake, the rest of the offense must step up as well, but Carr must make things happen through the air, running, and scrambling when necessary.

Can Chris Ash coach in a big game? Whether it was Miami, Texas A & M, or at BYU, the Irish Defense has looked phenomenal against weaker competition, but not shown up for the big games under Chris Ash. Even with the injuries on defense, there have been missed assignments, poor technique, and conservative play calling from the Irish Defensive coordinator. 

Something has to give on Saturday Night for the Fighting Irish Defense!

Head-to-Head Matchups:

Notre Dame Offense vs. Miami Defense: The Fighting Irish Offense is averaging 443 yards per matchup, while the Hurricane Defense is allowing 313 yards per game.

The Hurricanes Defense did not look impressive on the road last weekend in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels had 407 total yards of offense (341 passing, 66 rushing). However, Miami did play poorly against lesser competition last year and “got up” for the ranked showdowns.

Mike Denbrock’s offense will be tasked with putting up a lot of touchdowns this weekend, as the Miami Offense will likely be scoring as well. CJ Carr must have his best game under center, along with the offensive line. Nolan James Jr. and Jonaz Walton, can make plays happen, but the Irish Line must win the battle in the trenches.

Notre Dame still has the advantage in this matchup.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Miami Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense: The Hurricane Offense is averaging 535 yards per contest, while the Notre Dame Defense allows 236 yards per game. 

Chris Ash’s defense has not played well the past three weeks, and on top of that they will be without their leader Drayk Bowen, Chris Burgess Jr, Tae Johnson, and DJ McKinney. Francis Brewu and Jason Onye are questionable. 

The Miami Hurricanes have two of the top three players in the Heisman race right now, and the length of Chris Ash’s tenure in South Bend will be determined this weekend. 

Miami has the advantage, Chris Ash has not proven he can coach in big games yet.

Advantage: Miami

Special Teams: Spencer Porath is 10  for 11 this Fall, with his longest make at 52 yards. Conversely, Miami’s Jake Weinberg is 7 for 8 with his longest conversion at 50 yards.

There is no distinct special teams advantage.

Advantage: Tie

My Prediction:

After being left out of the 2025 College Football Playoffs, the “Leave No Doubt” phrase is going to be put to the test. Notre Dame Football faced their first challenge of the season at BYU, and failed in a lot of areas. Now, with their strength of schedule dwindling, this will be essentially a “home playoff game” in South Bend.

The Fighting Irish started the season red hot, with large margins of victory, but came down to reality in October. It seems as though the enthusiasm of being left out of the playoffs has dropped off since then. I am worried about the Miami Offense this weekend, and how disorganized the Irish Defense has looked the last several games. I know the crowd always gets this group energized, but with the injuries, that is not something that just gets fixed in a big game (hope I am wrong).

There must be more players on offense stepping up then CJ Carr, Jordan Faison, and Nolan James Jr. A lot of that is just letting younger players on the field like Jerome Bettis Jr and Jonaz Walton.

The atmosphere will be unbelievable and could be worth a touchdown. I truly think this team has everything they need to win a national championship, but they have to prove it first.

I am picking Miami to beat Notre Dame this weekend. I undoubtedly hope that they prove me wrong a million times over. I may be spending an arm and a leg to attend this game, so I certainly would not be doing that for a team I did not believe in. Let’s hope the Irish prove me wrong, and next week I am writing about how they should be #1 after upsetting Miami.

Prediction: Miami 34 Notre Dame 31