CFB: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Week 1 Preview

@#10 Miami FL Hurricanes (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL); 7.30pm EST; 12.30am IST/BST

Once upon a time, in the ’60s and ’70s to be a little more precise, Miami FL was the ‘Stanford’ on Notre Dame’s schedule. A private school with a much better academic reputation than football program. It provided the Irish with a warm weather destination for the final week of the regular season in odd-numbered years where ND weren’t playing out at Southern Cal. The Hurricanes provided the weather – not in hurricane season, thankfully – and Notre Dame would collect a W.  11 in a row in fact between 1967 and 1980. 

Then Howard Schnellenberger came along. Followed by Lou Holtz’s old pal, Jimmy Johnson. Those 11 straight wins by 1980 are a big reason why ND lead the series 18-8-1 all-time.  Those two UM coaches, however, are a major factor in why the Irish have lost each of their last six visits to the Hurricanes. 

The 1985-1990 era was both the apex and nadir of the nascent rivalry. The apex of the importance of the game – the winners thrice went on to be crowned national champions – and the nadir of behaviour both on and off the field. The legendary 1988 game is captured in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about the most famous t-shirt in college football history, ‘Catholics v Convicts’. The actions of home fans in the 1989 game at the old Orange Bowl is a major reason why the series was discontinued after 1990. 

Notre Dame’s scheduling arrangement with the ACC resurrected the fixture, though this will be only the third time the two teams have met in the last decade. Two of the last three encounters have been blowouts – 41-3 ND in Chicago in 2012, and 41-8 Miami FL in the most recent game in 2017. I suspect this time things will be a whole lot closer. 

Irish fans view their OL and RBs as a strength but will be keen to see how QB, CJ Carr, does in his first ever game under centre. And by how much the transfer receivers can improve ND’s WR room. And Miami FL fans will have very similar thoughts on their own offense. 

RT, Francis Mauigoa, has 1st round draft potential, though at 6’6 and 325 lbs he is three inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter than his LT teammate, Markel Bell.  With former Alabama and TCU transfer, James Brockermeyer at Centre, the Hurricanes OL should be the best one Notre Dame faces in the regular season. Mark Fletcher and Jordan Lyle are a dangerous RB combo, and TE, Elijah Lofton is one of the top returning Miami FL pass-catchers from 2024. 

The Hurricanes lost most of their top WR production and will hope to replace that successfully with transfers from LSU, BYU and FAU. But as with the Irish, their offensive output this year will primarily come down to how well their new QB does in his first (and last) year with his new teammates. 

Carson Beck was one of the more highly sought after transfer QBs in last Winter’s market, and certainly one of the most expensive ones. After losing Cam Ward to the first pick in the NFL draft, Head Coach, Mario Cristobal acted quickly to try to ensure a repeat of last year’s #1 offense in CFB. 

Beck is excellent when not pressured. If the Hurricanes can run effectively on ND, and give Beck time to throw, then it will be a long evening for Freeman and co. Irish fans, however, will appreciate the similarity of Beck’s situation to Riley Leonard’s a year ago. 

The now third-string QB on the Indianapolis Colts roster also missed all of Spring Camp due to injury and was unable to throw and build chemistry with his new receivers until Summer and Fall Camp. This undoubtedly hindered Leonard’s early season passing form, and ND fans would not be unhappy if Beck were to encounter comparable growing pains. 

Defensively it is very hard to know what to expect from the ‘Canes. Other than they surely can’t be any worse than last year. New DC, Corey Heatherman, had an impressive 2024 campaign in Minnesota. He will have a lot of transfers to work with as he tries to improve a Miami FL defense that allowed over 30 points per game against P4 opposition last season.

They certainly have talent, especially on the Edge and at CB. DE, Reuben Bain was an ACC Rookie of the year in 2023. At the same position, Akheem Mesidor was a freshman All-American at WVU. And former Irish recruit, DT, Justin Scott from Chicago, will surely have a point to prove. 

Kicking is another area where both teams have similar outlooks: in other words, neither are sure what to expect.  Miami FL lost their 2024 Kicker to the NFL draft; in Fall Camp, Texas transfer, Bert Auburn, has been inconsistent and challenged by FAU transfer and KO specialist, Carter Davis. With the Hurricanes HC reluctant to issue a depth chart ahead of the opening game, we shall have to wait and see who they roll out for FGs.