Canes Set for Top-10 Showdown Against Notre Dame
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – As a former two-time national champion offensive lineman for the Hurricanes during the 1980s, few people have as deep an understanding of the longstanding rivalry between Miami and Notre Dame as Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal.
But as 10th-ranked Miami prepared for its highly anticipated season opener against the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish on Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium, Cristobal didn’t particularly care to spend too much time strolling down memory lane, choosing instead to focus on the current Hurricanes and the current Irish.
Except when it came to one aspect of past Miami-Notre Dame showdowns, particularly those played at the venerable Orange Bowl once upon a time – and at Hard Rock Stadium back in 2017.
“It should be as maniacal as Miami games should be,” Cristobal said of the atmosphere he expects for Sunday’s primetime, nationally televised showdown. “I think there’s a lot of us here that have experienced those games from the Orange Bowl to Hard Rock and whatnot, and we expect it to be as loud and as wild as it could possibly get.”
In the days leading up to Sunday’s season opener, Cristobal wasn’t the only Hurricane to note they’re hoping, and preparing, for a raucous crowd at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami’s coaches and players alike made it clear they believe Hurricanes fans can have an impact on the game – especially when the Irish have the ball.
Notre Dame enters Sunday’s matchup with a bevy of talent and experience all across the field.
After dropping their home opener to Northern Illinois last season, the Irish rattled off 10 straight wins to earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. Wins against No. 10 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Penn State in the playoff put Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship Game.
The Irish came up short against Ohio State, 34-23, but enough faces from that 2024 team return that expectations are high for the Irish as a new season begins.
The Hurricanes know what kind of challenge Notre Dame poses, particularly with preseason All-American running back Jeremiyah Love and preseason All-American cornerback Leonard Moore leading the Irish offense and defense, respectively.
Love is coming off a breakout season in which he totaled 1,125 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, two of which were receptions. He scored a rushing touchdown in 13 straight games, and five times totaled more than 100 rushing yards in a game.
Moore, meanwhile, was named the Football Writers Association of America Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and earned multiple Freshman All-American honors after starting 10 games for the Irish last year and finishing with 48 tackles, two interceptions, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a quarterback hurry. He also broke up 10 passes and had seven tackles in each of the first two starts of his career.
Around them both are veteran skill players and stout offensive and defensive lines that are expected to be among some of the best in the country.
“They’re a very well-coached group. They’re disciplined. They’re a very smart group [and] they’ve got size, and they’ve got strength,” Hurricanes defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said of Notre Dame’s offensive line. “They’re a strong group, but I’m confident in our D-line. I know we if play with great technique every play, it shouldn’t be an issue. We know they’re a strong group, but we’re also confident in ourselves. It should be an interesting matchup, and we’re excited for it.”
Said Cristobal, “It’s an excellent football team, right? They got to the national championship and the way they got there was probably the most impressive thing because the resilience needed to overcome an early-season loss like they did, and go on a 10-week, 12-week winning spree is impressive. It was physicality, playing violent football, playing team football, but they have dynamic players everywhere and they’ve made people pay the price. They’ve played great complementary football. … They’re loaded with experienced, big, jumbo athletes, physical guys up front on both sides of the ball. They return 11 starters and the [transfer] portal guys they got were starters at other places.”
As experienced as the Irish may be, though, there is one spot where they’ll face questions: quarterback.
Riley Leonard, the signal caller who led the Irish to the CFP Championship Game last season and a 14-2 record, was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft.
Stepping in now as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback is freshman CJ Carr, a consensus four-star recruit who made his collegiate debut in last September against Purdue, but saw no action after that.
Miami’s defense – led by new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman – will no doubt look to make Sunday’s matchup as uncomfortable as possible for the freshman and the Hurricanes say they’re confident they and their aggressive scheme can get the job done.
“Believing in Coach Hetherman and his game plan, just going off what he knows … It’s a first-time quarterback, but that doesn’t mean anything,” linebacker Wesley Bissainthe said. “They have a really good team. Just locking in, being where our feet are, locking in on what we have to do on the defensive side of the ball, and everything will take care of itself.”
But the Irish won’t be the only ones Sunday with a new quarterback under center, though the questions Miami faces there are slightly different.
Cam Ward, who led the Hurricanes to their first 10-win season since 2017 last year, was the first pick in this year’s NFL Draft and is preparing to get his professional career started with the Tennessee Titans.
Stepping in now for Miami is former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who, as a sixth-year redshirt senior has plenty of experience in big games. In fact, during his Georgia career, Beck posted a 24-3 record as a starter and threw for 7,912 yards and 58 touchdowns.
But his season last year ended in disappointing fashion, with Beck suffering a serious injury in the SEC Championship Game. He underwent surgery and opted to transfer to Miami for a fresh start.
He was unable to compete in spring drills with the Hurricanes, though he was certainly a presence in the locker room, the film room, and on the sidelines, working to get to know his new teammates and learn offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson’s system.
Beck was cleared to throw shortly after spring practice ended and has been working to build chemistry with his receivers and playmakers throughout the summer. That work only intensified during preseason camp.
Sunday’s game, though, will mark his first real action since last year. The quarterback said his arm feels “great” and he’s ready to get both the season, and his Miami career, started.
“I’m super excited and it’s been so long since I’ve had the opportunity to go out on a football field and play the game I love, right? Now, for it to be here at The U, with these guys that obviously, I’ve become really close with over the past eight months, it’s an opportunity that you don’t get many of,” Beck said. “I mean, guaranteed we have 12 of these opportunities and you work the rest of the year for those 12 opportunities, so you never take them for granted, no matter who the opponent is, whether it’s home or away.
“Luckily, we’re starting it out at home, which is going to be dope and to be able to go out there and play in front of all those fans in Hard Rock and get to experience that, I’m really looking forward to it.”
For Beck and the Hurricanes, a new season begins on Sunday.
Both saw 2024 end short of their goals, with the quarterback dealing with the harsh reality of a serious injury and Miami narrowly missing out on both the ACC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
The chance to move forward together and begin a new championship push starts now against the Irish.
And it’s a push they’re all ready to make, together.
“I’m very excited for this. Notre Dame is one hell of a team. They don’t have an off button,” said Francis Mauigoa, a preseason All-American and one of the anchors of Miami’s offensive line. “It’s going to be four quarters of fun and competing. I’m really excited for Hard Rock. They’re coming down here. This is one of the games you sign up for as a Hurricane.”
Said Mesidor, “These are the games that you train all off season for, top 10 matchups, two great teams going at it and battling. I’m expecting Hard Rock to be packed because this is not just any regular game. You look back at Miami versus Notre Dame in history, it’s always been a great matchup and a pretty crazy game. I know our fans are going to be out there supporting us and it’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait.”
