Notre Dame vs. Miami: 5 Reasons Irish Will Beat the Hurricanes

Hard Rock Stadium is going to be a hornet's nest at kickoff Sunday night, and last time Notre Dame played here, that rattled the Irish enough to cost them points early. Even with a first-time starter in quarterback CJ Carr, Notre Dame has to not let the moment get away from them early.

Despite an inexperienced college quarterback, Notre Dame returns a ton of talent from last season and players who handled even bigger moments last winter. Look for them to be the leaders in key moments when the stadium is buzzing early Sunday.

4. Notre Dame's Interior Defensive Line Performs as Advertised

The biggest question on Notre Dame's defense is the interior line. Although the rest of the defense is stacked, this is my biggest concern as to what could keep the unit from being one of college football's elites in 2025.

Marcus Freeman feels differently after fall camp, though.

“The defensive tackle position was probably the biggest question mark I had coming into training camp and has probably given me the most conviction of a position group as any on our team,” Freeman said of the group on Tuesday.

If the unit performs as Freeman described, then Miami's running game is going to struggle to get going and the Hurricanes offense is going to be in a world of trouble.

3. Notre Dame's Run Game Travels

Notre Dame has the best running back room in the country, led by Jeremiyah Love. It also has one of the best offensive lines, whose strength is in the run game. This element should travel to Miami and make things easier on Carr in his first start.

2. Notre Dame Pressures Carson Beck

A year ago, Carson Beck was being hyped as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft. Now he's at Miami, trying to improve his stock after transferring from Georgia. Beck didn't handle pressure from opposing defenses well last year and certainly missed all-world tight end Brock Bowers as a bailout option. Expect to see Notre Dame's defensive ends tucking their ears back to get after Beck and make it a long night.

1. Talent and Coaching Matter

Miami appears to have improved significantly in places of need, but it feels like Notre Dame's is being overlooked nationally.

Let me put it straight to you: Notre Dame is a loaded football team. Don't let the fact it has a redshirt freshman making his first start at quarterback confuse you. The offensive line and running backs are elite, while the wide receivers should see significant improvement.

On defense, if Notre Dame's defensive tackles can play at a high level quickly, this will be among the very best defenses in the country.

Furthermore, is there a special teams coach that is trusted more nationally than Marty Biagi after the clinic he put on all last season?

And finally, who are you taking in a big game? Marcus Freeman, who led a team that beat seven ranked opponents last season, or Mario Cristobal, whose track record speaks for itself?