The Miami Hurricanes have recruited well during the head coaching tenure of Mario Cristobal. But they have come up short when it involves competing on a level with the best teams in the country.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish got one step away from a national championship last season. But that turned out to be a big step, as they were outplayed by Ohio State in the title game.

Miami and Notre Dame will meet up in the season opener for both teams on Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET.

College Football Lines on the Notre Dame-Miami game from BetUS

Notre Dame will have to carry the favorite’s role on the road in this one:

Notre Dame Fighting Irish -3
Miami Hurricanes +3

Over 50.5 Points -110
Under 50.5 Points -110

This history is bitter

This is the renewal of a rivalry that does not take place on a regular basis, but carries plenty of hate just the same. The last meeting was in 2017, as the ‘Canes won a 41-8 decision. The 1988 encounter was the famous “Catholics vs. Convicts” game, where Notre Dame, in South Bend, beat the Hurricanes 31-30 and got the aid of an officials’ call on an apparent TD that, in the opinion of Miami fans, went the wrong way.

And one of the worst days in Notre Dame history came in 1985, when, in Gerry Faust’s last game as the Irish coach, Jimmy Johnson and his players dealt out a 58-7 humiliation.

Taking a look at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame has been using transfer QB’s, and this year they turn to a redshirt freshman, CJ Carr, who won a competition for the job. And to help him out, the Irish have a very deep running attack. Jeremiyah Love (1125 yards, 17 TD’s in 2024) is positively one of the best in the country. And when he’s getting a breather, Jadarian Price (746 yards, 6.2 ypc) can step in.

The offensive line is going to be a strength. That’s something almost guaranteed with Notre Dame. And head coach Marcus Freeman likes the look of his retooled receiver group, which includes transfers like Malachi Fields of Virginia and Will Paling of Wisconsin.

Chris Ash, who has a lot of coaching experience, is the new D-coordinator, and he has seven players returning on that side of the ball. And they only allowed three opponents to top 14 points. Most of the strength is on the back seven; the linebackers are outstanding (Jaylen Sneed, Drayk Bowen, Alabama transfer DaVonta Smith among them).

Taking a look at the Miami Hurricanes

Last year, Miami had an opportunity to get to the College Football Playoff, but after winning their first nine games, they fumbled the ball. SMU went instead.

They did produce the first pick in the draft (Cam Ward), and they went out and grabbed former Georgia star Carson Beck to replace him at quarterback. Mario Cristobal is pretty aggressive when it comes to the transfer portal, so there isn’t an alarm sounding about the receiving corps, which was depleted.

Anchoring the offensive line is right tackle Francis Mauigoa, a preseason All-American. They’re all experienced up front.

Defensively, Miami will be quick and athletic; that’s usually going to be the case with them. They return eight starters, and there are noteworthy additions like DT David Bray (Louisiana Tech), LB Mohamed Toure (Rutgers) and nickel back Charles Brantley (Michigan State). The secondary has been reloaded. But keep in mind that this stop unit slumped a little in 2024; their Yards-per-Point figure was 12.9, which is not where it should be.

So who’s going to cover between Miami and Notre Dame?

Well, you have to understand first that in reviewing Miami’s 2024 regular season, they did not play one team that was ranked at the time they met. So how good were they?

Cristobal, as mentioned, is a great recruiter. But he’s been something of an underachiever when it comes to what’s on the field. The Irish, on the other hand, overachieved in getting to the championship game.

Sure, Miami has the edge when it comes to the quarterback position. But ND’s ground attack has the ability to come up big here.

Giving points to a “power” team is often risky business, but we’re a little more sure of Notre Dame’s power. So we’ll lay the points.