CJ Carr walks off the field following Notre Dame’s 27-24 loss at Miami last season. (Photo: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire)
Notre Dame fans don’t need much encouragement to dislike Miami. I certainly don’t.
For me, it goes all the way back to 1985, when Jimmy Johnson and the Hurricanes embarrassed Notre Dame 58-7 in Gerry Faust’s final game. It was one of the ugliest afternoons in Notre Dame football history, and I’ve had a hard time liking Miami ever since.
Then came Catholics vs. Convicts and Notre Dame’s unforgettable 31-30 victory over No. 1 Miami in 1988. A year later, the rivalry somehow became even more hostile when the Irish went back to the Orange Bowl. Miami ended Notre Dame’s 23-game winning streak, 27-10, but the ugliness wasn’t confined to the field. Notre Dame players have recalled having objects thrown at them and hearing racial taunts from the stands. The atmosphere surrounding that game went well beyond the usual hostility of a road game.
By then, Notre Dame-Miami had become more than a football rivalry. There was genuine animosity between the programs and their fan bases. The teams met one more time in 1990, with Notre Dame beating No. 2 Miami 29-20 in South Bend, and then the series went away. The rivalry had become so intense that the schools moved on after the 1990 season, and Notre Dame and Miami wouldn’t play again for 20 years, until the 2010 Sun Bowl.
Of course, the hostility didn’t disappear with the rivalry. There was the 41-8 disaster in Miami in 2017. And now there is last year, when Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 to open the season, a loss that ultimately played a major role in keeping the Irish out of the College Football Playoff.
So, yes, there are plenty of reasons for Notre Dame fans to have November 7 circled on the calendar.
But there is another reason we’re taking a closer look at Miami.
Last week, we looked at the five teams with the best Vegas odds of standing between Notre Dame and its first national championship since 1988: Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Oregon and Indiana.
Sitting right behind that group is Miami. And the Hurricanes deserve an article of their own because they’re different from those other contenders. They’re not some potential playoff matchup Notre Dame may or may not see in December or January.
Notre Dame knows it’s going to see Miami. The Hurricanes are coming to South Bend on November 7.
So just how good are they?
Miami isn’t going away
Let’s give the Hurricanes their due. Mario Cristobal has Miami back among the national championship contenders after the Hurricanes won a school-record 13 games and reached the national championship game last season.
There are some big names to replace, starting with quarterback Carson Beck, but Miami went right back to the transfer portal and landed one of the best quarterbacks available in Darian Mensah.
Mensah transferred from Duke after throwing for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns with just six interceptions last season. He gives Cristobal another proven quarterback, and he won’t be short on weapons.
Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. returns after rushing for 1,192 yards last season, including an incredible 507 yards during Miami’s College Football Playoff run. Then there is Malachi Toney, who caught 109 passes for 1,211 yards as a true freshman and enters this season as one of the most dangerous offensive players in college football.
Miami also added Mensah’s former Duke teammate Cooper Barkate, who had more than 1,100 receiving yards last season.
That’s some serious firepower.
But Miami isn’t without questions. The Hurricanes have to replace four starters from an offensive line that was one of the strengths of last year’s team. They also lost some serious talent on defense, including Reuben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, who combined for 22 sacks and 43 tackles for loss last season.
Cristobal has recruited too well for Miami to suddenly fall off the map, but those are significant pieces to replace. And we’ll know a lot more about the Hurricanes by the time they get to South Bend.
The road to Notre Dame
Miami’s early schedule isn’t overwhelming. The Hurricanes open at Stanford on September 4, then play Florida A&M, Wake Forest and Central Michigan before things get considerably more interesting.
On October 3, Miami goes to Clemson. After an open week, the Hurricanes host Florida State on October 17 and Pittsburgh on October 24 before traveling to North Carolina on October 31.
Then comes Notre Dame.
That’s a pretty interesting stretch: Clemson on the road, Florida State, Pittsburgh, North Carolina on the road and then Notre Dame in South Bend.
Miami could arrive unbeaten and firmly in the national championship picture. It could also arrive having been knocked around a little bit by the ACC portion of its schedule. Either way, we’re going to know exactly what kind of Miami team is getting off that bus on November 7.
The Irish will have already played Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, Michigan State, SMU and Navy by then. Notre Dame gets its open week on October 24 before facing Navy at Gillette Stadium on October 31. Then the Irish come home to face Miami.
Notre Dame Stadium will be ready
This is the part of the matchup that fascinates me. Notre Dame Stadium isn’t always the most intimidating environment in college football. That’s not exactly breaking news.
But give Notre Dame fans the right opponent, the right stakes and a night game, and that place can be different. Miami on November 7 has all of it.
It’s Miami. It’s a 7:30 kickoff. It’s the team that beat Notre Dame last year. It’s the team that went to the national championship game while Notre Dame was left out of the playoff. And if both teams are where they expect to be, the national championship could be hanging over everything that happens that night.
Nobody is going to have to tell Notre Dame fans this is a big game, and nobody is going to have to manufacture a reason to dislike the opponent.
We already have plenty.
For those of us who remember 1988, there is something almost fitting about all of this. The last time Notre Dame won a national championship, Miami was standing in the way. The No. 1 Hurricanes came to South Bend, Notre Dame beat them 31-30, and the Irish went on to win it all.
Nearly 38 years later, Notre Dame enters this season with expectations that couldn’t be much higher. Making the playoff isn’t the goal. Competing for a national championship isn’t the goal.
Winning one is.
And Miami may once again be standing directly in the way.
There is a long way to go before November 7, and both teams have plenty of work to do. But if you’re a Miami fan, you have every right to feel pretty good about your team. You beat Notre Dame last year. You went to the national championship game. And you have enough talent to believe you can do it again.
Just remember one thing.
This one isn’t in Miami. This one’s in South Bend.
At night.
Miami got Notre Dame in its house last season. This time, the Hurricanes have to come to South Bend.
And Notre Dame Stadium will be waiting.
But we’ve spent enough time looking ahead.
Over the last two weeks, we’ve examined the teams most likely to stand between Notre Dame and the national championship it has been chasing for 38 years. Miami is certainly one of them, and we’ll have plenty more to say about the Hurricanes before November 7.
For now, though, it’s time to turn our attention to the team standing immediately in Notre Dame’s way.
Wisconsin.
The Badgers will be waiting at Lambeau Field on September 6, and before Notre Dame can worry about Miami, the College Football Playoff or finally ending that 38-year championship drought, the Irish have to take care of Game 1.
The expectations couldn’t be much higher.
Now it’s time to start finding out if this Notre Dame team can live up to them.