''We've Just Got to Keep on Building''

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Not long after the alma mater had been sung, the celebration on the field and in the stands had wrapped up and the Hurricanes were starting to file out of Hard Rock Stadium after a hard-fought win over Notre Dame late Sunday night, Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain Jr. found themselves answering questions about the game that was.

And while he did, Bain clutched a most unlikely source of motivation: his cell phone, where he’d saved an article that had mentioned him – and not in a positive way.

“I don’t take too kindly to disrespect,” the defensive lineman said. “So, if I see something, that’s definitely my bulletin board [material] and that’s my mindset all week. If I’m tired, I’ve got to think about that. I know somebody’s doubting us. Somebody’s counting us out. And, if they are, come Saturday, Friday, Sunday, Thursday, whatever time it is, on the field, Greentree, Hard Rock, concrete, we’re going to get it in wherever and show you why we’re Hurricanes.”

In Sunday night’s 27-24 win over the rival Irish, Bain and Mesidor showed plenty of the physical playmaking ability that would have no doubt made some of Miami’s great defenders of the past plenty proud.

The two defensive linemen – both of whom have dealt with injuries during their Miami careers – came together in the game’s final moments to bring down Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, effectively ending the Irish’s final drive.

Bain, the 2023 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, finished the game with six tackles – tied for the team lead with linebacker Raul “Popo” Aguirre Jr. . Bain also had an interception that was deflected not once, not twice, but three times before he snagged the ball.

That pick, which Bain returned for 12 yards, went on to set up a 38-yard field goal by Hurricanes kicker Carter Davis that gave Miami a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“I was running, looking to see who was going to catch the ball so I could make the tackle,” Bain said of the circus play. “Then all of a sudden, I see it go a little higher than that in the air, next thing it’s in my arms, next thing I’m running.”

Mesidor, meanwhile, totaled five tackles and had 1.5 sacks – with those sacks coming on back-to-back plays on Notre Dame’s final drive.

The two veteran defensive linemen led a Miami defensive effort that included a combined three sacks, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.

And while the Hurricanes concede it wasn’t a perfect showing and there are still things to correct moving forward, it was an effort that helped Miami notch its first win over a top-10 opponent since 2017.

And for some of the players who were on the roster last season when the defense endured its share of late-season struggles, Sunday’s performance was a source of pride.

“It means everything. Last year, everybody had something to say about our defense, and I don’t blame them. We were the Achilles heel of this team,” Mesidor said. “But we came back during this offseason, got a new defensive coordinator, got a whole new bunch of guys who just love football and a lot of the guys in the facility want to be there. We just came together, and we just bought into the process, and we saw it tonight.”

Added linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, who had three tackles, a tackle for loss and forced a fumble, “Man, it feels good. We worked hard this offseason and for us to come out here and win this first game after last season, man, it feels amazing. Now, we’ve just got to keep on building and go 1-0 every week.”

Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, who joined the Hurricanes earlier this year, was charged with overhauling a unit that allowed an average of 25.3 points per game in 2024 and gave up 41 and 42 points against Syracuse and Iowa State late last season.

Like his players, Hetherman was pleased with Sunday’s overall performance – especially on Notre Dame’s final drive. But there were breakdowns that allowed the Irish to tie it late, despite Miami holding a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“I thought our guys came out and we played fast early,” Hetherman said. “I thought we communicated well early in the game. The biggest thing is just some of the techniques and some of the fundamentals, really as the game progressed, as the game went on, we just have to clean some of that stuff up. But we were happy with the effort. We were happy with how hard the guys played. I thought we were physical, we got to the football and just little details now that we’ve got to clean up so we can close out the game.”

As happy as they were after Sunday’s win, it didn’t long for Bain, Mesidor and the rest of the Hurricanes to start thinking about what’s next.

Miami is set to continue its four-game September homestand against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.

It will be another opportunity for the Hurricanes to continue building on what they did against the Irish and continue learning more about the kind of unit they can be this season.

They say they’re ready to move forward.

“We get in the film room, correct our mistakes and then we rip this page out of the book and start a new week with Bethune-Cookman,” Mesidor said. “We just forget about this week after everything’s corrected and then onto a new opponent. And then we do the same thing every single week after that. We have to go 1-0 every single week.”

Added Bain, “You have to forget about it. You go over it, you get your mistakes corrected, you make your improvements, and you learn. We’ll be back on Greentree Tuesday getting ready for Bethune.”