Notre Dame vs Miami: How the Irish Can Beat the Hurricanes
- Luciano Antonini
- 11 hours ago
- 10 min read
Photo by The Irish Tribune
Notre Dame football is upon us. It's been 222 days since you've watched that special team. It's also been 222 days since you watched that same special team come up short in the most special game of them all. But you can also say that it's been 222 days of you waiting for this very day, Notre Dame vs Miami, the start of that yearly tradition, the tradition of a pursuit to greatness, national champions, and it starts with Notre Dame taking on Miami at Hard Rock Stadium tonight. As you gather your final feelings and submit your final predictions to your friends and family, consider some analysis and educated predictions from our staff here at The Irish Tribune. May you find yourself even more educated than you were before about what to expect for tonight's top-10 matchup. Let's go!
The Analysis
Excerpt from Brenden Duffy, Associate Editor & Senior Staff Writer at The Irish Tribune:
With rain in the forecast all weekend and an HBCU game being played on the field yesterday, Hard Rock Stadium might be a mess. And I love that for the Irish. Miami may struggle early as they try to maintain a heavy pass offense from last year despite the conditions. Even if Beck can still throw effectively, I trust the Irish DBs more than Miami’s unproven receiving threats.
A forced ground game favors ND with its lethal rushing attack. Love & Price behind the strong line should be able to break some plays against a Hurricanes defense that struggled a year ago. Miami’s 1-2 punch at RB and OLine are both talented, but they are opening against what is projected to be one of the top run defenses in the country. Give me the Irish in a gross, low-scoring game.
Brenden Duffy's Prediction: 24-14 Notre Dame wins.
Some background from our very own. Insider Bruce Straughan:
I don't believe this will be a blowout like some fans on both sides are claiming. I think this will be far closer to a battle than either side is willing to admit. Notre dame comes into Hard Rock Stadium against Miami, 0-6 in their last 6 meetings in Miami dating back to 1981. I think Miami matches up well with Notre Dame, and Hard Rock (when they can get it packed) can be a tough place to play. I'm confident in what Notre Dame has on both sides of the ball to win this game. My only concern is an unproven CJ Carr ready to go on the road as a freshman in a tough environment and do what he needs to do to get the victory? Only time will tell, but Notre Dame, I believe, will also rely heavily on the run to take some pressure off of Carr, and Notre Dame comes out with the win.
Bruce Straughan's Prediction: 27-21 Irish win.
More insight from Luciano Antonini, Founder of The Irish Tribune:
Stormy rains are expected in Miami between 5 pm and 10 pm ET, potentially having a major impact that'll hinder air combat for both teams. Luckily for Notre Dame, it has arguably the best running back room and best running back coach in the country. Jeremiyah Love left a lot to be desired in the national championship game; outside of his thrilling 98-yard touchdown run against Indiana and moster goalline touchdown against Penn State, the Heisman hopeful had just 76 yards to his name in Notre Dame's playoff run as he battled a nagging knee injury in the final stretch of the season.
It's understandably hard for any player to provide properly for their team with a notable injury like that, but there's two things that matter most here, Jeremiyah delivered when Notre Dame needed him most against Indiana and Penn State with those two incredible touchdown runs, one for 98 yards, and one for two yards, arguably the most thrilling 100 yards of the season, Notre Dame would not have made it to the title game in part because of the clutchness of Jeremiyah Love last season. The second part that matters most is that Jeremiyah is hungrier than ever before. In his feature story with The Players Tribune, written from the heart, he talked about how he will never forget the night of January 20th, the night that Notre Dame lost in the title game to Ohio State. Love also talked about how he doesn't want to just look at history; he wants to make it.
With the pending rain in bound for Miami, expect Notre Dame to offer no shortage of running plays against the Hurricanes. Freeman and Denbrock will likely breakout their ground arsenal in Jadarian Price, Aneyas Williams, Nolan James Jr, and of course, Jeremiyah Love to have a busier than usual workload. I would also expect many tight end utilization plays to take place with pending star Eli Raridon, Ty Washington, and others to get at least several looks from the quarterback. Speaking of quarterbacks, CJ Carr makes his debut today. Again, the potential rain will have a potential impact on how the game is played offensively. Freeman is going to be even more patient with Carr this game. With the potential for rain, it'll be trickier for Carr to make the very plays that led to him being chosen as QB1. Expect more conservative passes utilizing their tight end room, as I mentioned just above.
Miami will try to utilize three things primarily on defense the first one being the crowd, and the second one being the rain, and the third being CJ Carr.
Home Crowd
While Miami isn't known for filling up its stadium, it is known for radiating a vibe that spells trouble for visiting teams. This is exactly what happened to Notre Dame in 2017. From the turnover chain to bottles being thrown at Notre Dame's team buses, causing a window to be broken, again, not the most welcoming game for Notre Dame. Though the turnover chain has been retired, expect a hostile and rowdy crowd tonight, regardless of the weather, which brings me to my second point.
Weather
The forecast currently calls for light to moderate rain from 5 pm until about 10 pm. .75 inches in total for that duration is expected. Thunderstorms are not off the table either. I wouldn't bet the house on a rain delay tonight, but I'm also not betting the house on one not happening at all. Miami's defense is going to take advantage of this and likely have a more profound front-seven attack on Notre Dame, with the intent to limit the run, pressure Carr into making less-than-ideal plays, and give their offense as many opportunities as possible to wear Notre Dame's stellar defense out. Offensively for Miami, they will likely have a tougher time moving the ball offensively than Notre Dame will in rainy conditions.
CJ Carr
Miami is up there in terms of less-than-ideal places you want your first-time starting quarterback to make his debut at; there may be a perfect storm brewing for spoiling CJ Carr's first guaranteed opportunity. Rain could have an impact on both what Carr will be asked to do and how he can go about doing it. Miami's hostile environment will not be doing CJ any favors either. Is it the toughest in the country? I'd argue no. Is it going to be difficult? I'd argue yes. New Miami DC Corey Hetherman enjoyed a base nickel (3-3-5) scheme at Minnesota last season, which rewarded the Gophers and Hetherman with a top-10 performing defense in 2024, allowing only 16.9 points per game on average. Hetherman accomplished a lot with Minnesota in 2024 and is inheriting a Miami defense that saw lesser accomplishments last season, allowing an average of 25.3 ppg.
Miami will give Notre Dame a run for its money in all facets of the game. But I anticipate Freeman to have the team prepared the same way he had them prepared for the overwhelming majority of last season. I think the Irish find a way to win one way or another.
Luciano's Prediction: 27-17 Notre Dame wins.
The Predictions
From First & Gold Podcast Co-Host, Clayton Stohler:
Miami will have success running the ball early. Their offensive line is the best in the nation going into this game, and it'll be put to good use. But as the game draws on, Notre Dame's defense adjusts, and the mistakes from Carson Beck begin.
Much has been made about Beck's experience and production. But the reality is, he is working with a new WR corps, and one that is largely just ok. CJ Daniels and JoJo Trader will be locked down by ND's elite secondary. And the pressure brought by ND's front 4 and Jaylen Sneed proved to be too much.
ND's offense boasts what we haven't talked about enough this offseason...the best RB room in the country. ND's offensive line sets the tone immediately, and with that, ND's offense looks efficient in the air as well as explosive on the ground.
It'll be close for 2 quarters, but slowly, ND pulls away and controls the game.
Jeremiyah Love will have 1 TD, Jadarian Price with another. CJ Carr has a connection forming with Pauling, Fields, and Rairdon. The offense is well-balanced, and while they may turn the ball over 1-2 times, it won't matter. ND's roster emerges as one of the best in the country, right out of the gate.
Clayton's Prediction: 30-13 Notre Dame prevails.
Via First & Gold Podcast Co-Host, Connor Regan:
Miami’s defense should be a tick better than last year, but without Cam Ward, I don’t see the same juice on offense. Carson Beck is steady, not fireworks, and that, combined with new targets on the outside, kind of balances things out. I think Chris Ash’s group takes a series or two to settle in, Miami lands an early punch or two, and then the Irish start squeezing the run and forcing Beck to throw into a strong secondary.
On our side, this is a “get CJ Carr in rhythm” game: script some layups early—RPO/glance throws and play-action seams—use motion and tighter formations to keep him clean. Give him a few rollouts, and let the checkdowns to tight ends and the backs build confidence. No hero ball needed; take what’s there, stack completions, and let the big shots come to you. Watch out for Love and Price putting together an impressive day from the backfield that drives a dagger into the Hurricanes’ less-than-stellar defense.
By mid-game, the offense is scoring in steady waves while the defense tightens the screws, and Miami tacks on a late field goal to dress up the final score. Bottom line: lock down the run, make Beck be perfect, help Carr settle in early, lean on the run, and ND walks out of Hard Rock with a clean Week 1 win.
Connor's Prediction: 31-17 Notre Dame on top.
Hear from Brady Burden, Social Media Assistant with The Irish Tribune:
This game will be one of those games. Rivalry runs deep. The Irish haven't been successful at Miami since 1977. Both teams will start off slow. Weather conditions will play a factor, but hopefully positively for the Irish.
Notre Dame has studied Carson Beck for a while now, dating back to when they played Georgia last year. I think the Irish up front will make a huge impact and get to Beck in the backfield, letting the DBs of Moore, Shuler, Gray, etc. play as advertised.
Love and Price will find the end zone several times behind the strong o-line. Expect the wide receiver crew to make a bigger impact than we've seen in the past. Miami is a talented, strong team, no doubt, but give me the Irish to escape with a win.
Brady's Prediction: 30-27 Notre Dame over Miami.
According to Max Uretsky, Analyst at The Irish Tribune:
In what should be a tight game in some bad weather, Notre Dame's defense is going to have to make some late plays to snuff out a go-ahead score by Miami. For CJ Carr's first ever start, a tight end is a QB's best friend, as I expect Eli Raridon to find some holes at the second level vs Miami's zone defense and have a career high in receiving yards
Max's Prediction: 24-23 Notre Dame escapes.
According to Liam Farrell, Associate Editor & Senior Football Writer:
CJ Carr finds his footing early, but does throw an interception right before the 2nd half to keep Miami in the game. The Notre Dame defense struggles early but pitches a 2nd half shutout and keeps Miami to 10 points. Carson Beck can't find his connection with his new receivers, and ultimately, the Irish leave Hard Rock Stadium, 1-0. A bold prediction is that Jadarian Price will have more rushing yards than Jeremiyah Love, but Love will still have 2 TDs.
Liam's Prediction: 27-10 Notre Dame wins.
Finally, from Noah Wehby, Writer at The Irish Tribune:
With potentially poor playing conditions and a new starting QB, Notre Dame's offense will struggle to start the game. Luckily for the offense, the elite Irish defense will keep them in the game and even give them some favorable field position with a turnover or two.
As the game wears on, Jeremiyah Love finally breaks one loose for a big play and gives Notre Dame the lead they need to win the game. Carr flashes throughout the game, but makes mistakes expected of a young starter. In the end, he gets the job done, but it is the rest of the team that makes the biggest impact in the win.
Noah's Prediction: 24-20 Notre Dame
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