A renewed rivalry, a sold-out stadium, a national television audience, a prime-time matchup of teams who expect to contend for spots in the College Football Playoff.
That’s how many might describe the meeting between No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 10 Miami when they collide in a season-opener on Sunday night.
Michael Conroy / AP
Notre Dame made the CFP national title game last season; Miami felt like it was snubbed by the committee that chose that event’s 12-team field. The Irish will start untried CJ Carr at quarterback (he’s never attempted a pass in a college game), while Miami is replacing No. 1 pick Cam Ward with Georgia transfer Carson Beck — part of two national championship teams with the Bulldogs and someone who is no stranger to marquee games like this.
“What a way to start college football season,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “It’s something we enjoy, we embrace. That’s what you go to Notre Dame for. That’s why you come to coach at Notre Dame, to play in games like this throughout the year, but especially Week 1. Night game, prime time, everybody’s watching you versus a heck of an opponent. That’s what any competitor wants.”
Miami has the same perspective.
“This is one of the games you sign up for as a Hurricane,” offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa said.
It’s the first matchup between the teams since Miami played host to Notre Dame and rolled to a 41-8 win in 2017. Notre Dame went 12-1-1 in the first 14 games between the schools; the series has been much more competitive in the last 45 years, with the Hurricanes having a slight 7-6 edge in the most recent 13 head-to-head contests.
“It should be as maniacal as a Miami game should be. … We expect it to be as loud and as wild as it could possibly be,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “And we encourage that.”
At Miami
Depending on perspective, Notre Dame hasn’t won at Miami in either eight months or 48 years. The Irish are 0-6 in their last six games “at” the Hurricanes but won a CFP national semifinal game on Jan. 9 over Penn State at Hard Rock Stadium — the stadium that’ll be the site of Sunday’s matchup.
Title ties
Notre Dame’s three most recent national championship seasons (1973, 1977, 1988) all were ones where the Fighting Irish beat the Hurricanes. Miami’s first three national championship seasons (1983, 1987, 1989) all were ones where the Hurricanes got a home win over the Irish.
Top 10 openers
This is the ninth time that Notre Dame has opened a season as part of a matchup of teams ranked 10th or higher in the opening AP poll, with its most recent such matchup coming against Ohio State in 2002. Miami is part of a top-10 opener for the fifth time, its first since 2004 against Florida State.
Rare Sunday game
Miami hasn’t played on a Sunday since opening the 2018 season against LSU in Arlington, Texas. It’ll be Notre Dame’s first Sunday game since it kicked off the 2021 campaign at Florida State. And this matchup is only the sixth top-10 game in the last 50 years to be played on a Sunday; three of the other five in that span were bowl games.
Hello, again
Only in the transfer portal era would this be possible. Notre Dame has four players — receiver Malachi Fields (formerly of Virginia), defensive back Jalen Stroman (Virginia Tech), defensive tackle Jared Dawson (Louisville) and kicker Noah Burnette (North Carolina) — who have already played against both the Irish and the Hurricanes. Miami linebacker Jaylin Alderman (formerly of Louisville) has also been on the field against both the Hurricanes and Irish.
