Notre Dame vs. Miami: What Will Decide Sunday’s Winner

So much has been made about the quarterbacks entering Sunday night's game, and more will come as hype for the showdown will only grow.

CJ Carr will be making his first career start for Notre Dame. He comes with a load of hype, but with a practically empty collegiate resume.

Carson Beck was one of the biggest transfers in college football this offseason, moving from Georiga to Miami. His experience is undeniable and is something Miami paid a lot of money for.

However, when was the last time two opposing quarterbacks were actually on the field at the same time?

That's not to say quarterbacks aren't important Sunday night because they clearly are, but there is a lot more to the story than those two.

Notre Dame vs. Miami: Notre Dame Must Pressure Beck

When you go across the board of matchups in this game, there are a lot of things you feel good about if you're Notre Dame. The one you likely feel the worst about is Notre Dame's ability to throw on a Miami secondary that has been rebuilt via the portal.

I keep going back to whether or not Notre Dame can create pressure regularly on Beck. I trust Notre Dame's run defense to be good enough, and I trust the Irish offensive line to handle a talented defensive front of Miami.

But can Notre Dame's defensive front make life hard on Beck for most of the night?

The venerable Jamie Uyeyama had a piece on Irish Sports Daily on Monday, that echoed that sentiment. He noted that in a narrow escape at Kentucky last year, Beck was pressured on over 33% of dropbacks, while Georgia only managed 13 points. He was pressured over 35% of the time in Georgia's loss to Ole Miss last season.

Obviously, the more pressure there is, the more incomplete or intercepted passes the defense creates.

Can Notre Dame speed up Beck's clock and make life that much more difficult Sunday night? If so, that'll go as far as telling the story of the contest as any other single factor.

And if Notre Dame can do it enough, the final score may look similar to that 2017 contest, but with the team wearing white running away with a win.