The nightmares continue playing Miami on the road. Notre Dame opened up the 2025 season with high hopes as the road favorite but now fly back to South Bend after suffering a close but very frustrating loss to the Hurricanes. Some bright spots were able to shine through and credit to the team for fighting back and making it a game. Still, not the way anyone wanted to start the 2025 campaign and now the pressure is on in the playoff era to string together a bunch of wins.
Here’s our game review of the 27-24 loss to Miami.
QUARTERBACK: B+
Hey, we get to start with some of the most promising results from last night’s game! CJ Carr looked entirely ready for the moment and flashed big potential for this team. I predicted he’d go 18 of 31 for 194 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception and he finished against Miami with 19 completions on 30 attempts for 221 yards, with 2 touchdown passes and 1 interception. He also added several key running plays and scored the only rushing touchdown for the Irish. All of that in a game where the offensive line did not play anywhere close to expectations.
As tough as the loss was, in the big picture, it’s a huge deal that A) it wasn’t embarrassing B) we won’t have to deal with a quarterback controversy and C) Carr could develop into a top, top quarterback. And maybe get there sooner rather than later.
This was really impressive. Carr was under control and while not perfect in the pocket he had good enough presence that Miami only had 3 sacks in a game where the pressure felt far worse. We knew he was accurate and that translated to his first game with the Irish. A few throws could’ve been sharper but he gives the offense high-level accuracy to all parts of the field.
RUNNING BACK: C-
Well, this was a weird one. On the one hand, it was like Jeremiyah Love wasn’t on the team for long stretches. He had one carry in the 2nd quarter with 13:24 to go until halftime and then didn’t get his next carry until 2:25 remaining in the 3rd quarter. But yet, you look at the boxscore and Love had 16 targets in the game, or just over a quarter of all snaps.
Just 10 carries doesn’t feel like enough, but it was a low snap count game for the offense. And I left the game feeling a little let down by Love because he wasn’t effective at all (just 3 successful runs!) and it felt like the offense was trying to make him a decoy, but also a big part of the passing game, while feeding him enough rushes in certain moments. Maybe it’s time to get back to basics?
Also, can he not jump in the air every time he’s in the open field??
Jadarian Price is who he is and we saw the good (30 yard run) and the bad (fumble). I don’t want to overreact to one fumble but for someone who doesn’t get an overwhelming amount of carries he does drop the ball too often.
With just 58 offensive snaps, it’s not surprising that the running back depth wasn’t used. Only Aneyas Williams (1 snap) was used among the other running backs.
WIDE RECEIVER: C
Let’s hope this unit can develop quickly with the promise of Carr’s passing ability because on Sunday night in Miami it left a lot to be desired. Faison got started early with some squirrely YAC running through traffic and then you see he only ended up with 33 total yards. They leaned on short screens early and that was about the best of that effort with Faison.
Carr mentioned he made the wrong read on the 2nd down screen that resulted in an interception. I’m still wishing the duo of Faison and Greathouse found a way to knock that ball down, ugh.
Greathouse was a disappointment, unfortunately. He totaled 39 snaps and didn’t make a catch. I can’t imagine Malachi Fields’ career starting in a worse way for the Irish following his lost fumble but he rebounded for 3 total receptions and the catch of the day for Notre Dame. He should continue to develop chemistry and be a very good player this year, I think.
The rest of the group?
No surprise that the top 5 receivers (Faison, Greathouse, Fields, Pauling, Gilbert) took most of the snaps. Only KK Smith (1 snap) saw the field from the backups. We need more from this group moving forward, we’ll see how things change when Carr has more time to throw.
TIGHT END: B-
Denbrock had been signaling for a while that the heavy tight end sets wouldn’t be used a lot this year, particularly with the lack of depth at the position. I was not prepared for Eli Raridon to play the entire game with only 1 snap from Ty Washington. For a Notre Dame offense this is shocking! It makes me wonder, did the lack of tight end snaps become a problem for the offensive line blocking?
Miami ready to tee-off on Notre Dame’s pass blockers.
Either way, this was a huge load for Raridon to shoulder in his first start as The Guy at tight end. I think his ceiling will be very high and it’s hard to complain too much about leading both teams with 97 receiving yards.
OFFENSIVE LINE: D
Yikes, what happened here!???
The snap reaction here may be to give this unit a grade of F and set against expectations perhaps that is fair. Still, the offense did end up with decent enough offensive stats that I’m willing to bump up their grade a little bit. That said, the pass blocking grades for left tackle and right guard were abysmal and the biggest reason (IMO) Notre Dame lost this game.
Styles Prescod ended up replacing Anthonie Knapp briefly at left tackle (due to cramps) and Freeman mentioned after the game they went with a planned 2nd half rotation to Sullivan Absher from Guerby Lambert at right guard.
This line should be pretty good, right? Are there bigger problems than we realize? Was it just a one-off poor day against some really good players on Miami? I tend to think this unit will fix things and turn out pretty strong but they’ll have a bullseye on their back against Texas A&M in a couple weeks. They can’t afford to play poorly again.
DEFENSIVE LINE: C+
The defensive performance felt worse in the moment, which tends to happen when the Irish fall behind. Looking back now the numbers suggest it wasn’t that bad and the defense seemed to be playing better as the game wore on. With hindsight, I think most would’ve taken Miami’s total yards, sub-5 yards per play, and even their total points scored and not believe something terrible happened.
The defense did look a bit soft up the middle, though.
Miami’s top 2 running backs finished with only 13 successful runs on 30 combined carries but the game was absolutely littered with plays where the Canes looked corralled only to gain 2-3 more yards. There were way too many snaps where Miami should’ve been stuffed but set up more manageable down and distances.
Boubacar Traore notched a sack and looked by far the best player from the defensive line. Unfortunately, no one else picked up a tackle for loss and lots of players looked really invisible.
LINEBACKER: C+
This group is supposed to be a strength and didn’t play that way against Miami. Tackling didn’t look sharp enough and the playmaking ability that we saw last year wasn’t able to translate to the field against the Canes. Was it a scheme problem?
We know the talent is in this group so perhaps it’s not time to panic. Nevertheless, opponents are going to try and run up the middle against this Irish front and the linebackers are going to have to find ways to stop that and make adjustments against the better quarterbacks on the schedule. Like I said above, they seemed to be doing better as the game continued in Miami but the first half wasn’t great.
SECONDARY: C
The Irish needed to make Carson Beck pay for a couple mistakes and it didn’t happen. Most famously on the incredible CJ Daniels catch of the year nominee–that could’ve been an Adon Shuler interception or great pass break up. Instead, it’s a highlight reel we’ll forever see in this rivalry game.
Ooof.
An interception would’ve gone a long way for the Irish in this game. They needed something! Beck finished with a cool and calm 65% passing and 205 yards. I think Miami could’ve opened it up a little more in the 2nd half (I’ve been reading a lot of Canes fans really pissed about their terrible conservative gameplan!) and trusted Beck to throw more, but they didn’t. This was my strength for Notre Dame in the game preview and it didn’t come to fruition.
NOTES:
I usually don’t get too worked about gameplans unless they are really, really, really bad. I didn’t think things got that point on Sunday night for either side of the ball. If I’m being honest, the larger concern is that Notre Dame just might not be that talented as we thought at a few positions and long-term that is a big worry. We’ll see with more data if that’s true or not. This was one of those games where people were clamoring for more runs from Love but that was probably the least effective thing Notre Dame did all night. Gameplans are funny that way.
It doesn’t mean anything, but I don’t like Chris Ash’s face on the sideline. Give him a goatee and he looks way too much like Brian VanGorder out there to me. In the few shots on TV, he pulls these weird faces like he’s confused and it doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence! I thought it was interesting in comparison to Miami’s new defensive coordinator who was very lively and full of energy on the sideline. Ash looked like he was struggling to keep up with what was happening before him on the field.
Ash face might become a meme.
What do we have to do to get the shiny monogram hats available to purchase for the public that Denbrock and some of the other assistants were wearing?
CJ Carr’s mom got a lot of TV time.
Will this Miami team make the playoffs? If their lines are as good as we saw on Sunday night they should. They miss Clemson during the regular season. They do have a tricky 3-game set coming up soon (Florida, at Florida State, Louisville) plus they travel to SMU and Pittsburgh. They could end up 11-2 with a win in the ACC Championship Game and be a tough team in the playoffs.
Notre Dame being +0.7 in YPP wasn’t something I expected to see after the loss. The long pass play to Eli Raridon did a lot for that stat.
Take a look at 8:25 in the video below for CJ Carr’s touchdown pass. He 100% threw that no-look to Gilbert. He has his head reading to the right and you can very clearly see no. 8 on Miami move that way in response. A shocking display of confidence! And accuracy!
Carson Beck finished the game on a line of 1 of 5 for 9 yards. CJ Carr finished the game with a line of 9 of 12 for 167 yards with that stupid interception being one of the big blemishes.
Another stat that doesn’t seem real: Miami didn’t have a sack until very late in Notre Dame’s penultimate offensive drive.
Both kickers on each team looked good. Interestingly, the Texas transfer Bert Auburn didn’t end up winning the job for Miami. The lone field goal attempt from Noah Burnette was a nice smooth kick.
Notre Dame scored 3 touchdowns on 3 red zone attempts, something positive to build on for the future!
I’m curious about Donovan Hinish and Will Pauling being captains and not being super highly valued/used players who make a big impact. All respect to their leadership abilities but it’s always strange when captains aren’t among the best players. I’d also note, none of the captains had a particularly good game.
This may end up being a perfectly decent 9-3 or 10-2 Notre Dame team. If they can clean some things up on the offensive line the ceiling could push a little higher. After the loss to Miami, I don’t feel too different to what I expected during the pre-season. I don’t have any other hot takes right now.
Great review of a lousy game. Last week, my biggest concern was that Carr as a new starter was going to lose the game, but in reality Carr was probably the best part of the offense last night.
GOOD: Carr played well. Except for their fumbles, Fields and Price also played well. It was good to see Traore. Stroman and Gray made some good plays.
BAD: Those horizontal screens. The interior DL. The o-line. Rairdon’s hands. Shuler played below expectations. Watching Hobbs be a half-step behind that fast Miami receiver.
UGLY: Can we finally stop the talk about “Love for Heisman”, “the O-line is awesome”, “Moore is the best CB in college football”, and “ND is going to win the NC this year”? ND has a good team, but clearly has flaws. Unless Miami is truly national championship material this year, ND seems to have a borderline-playoff team that will likely beat up the cupcakes on their schedule and the decent teams at home.
Thanks for another excellent review, also including Andy’s. Some thoughts:
QB:
The many fan comments on attempting too many screen passes, including pointed remarks by Marcus Freeman, involves asking why CJ checked out of so many called runs: did he lack confidence in JL or indeed his own line? Or was he just eager beaver to throw whatever the coaches let him throw? Or did he misread the Miami D?
All of this begs the question of why he was given so many options and we could put that down to coach fears of rookie quarterback tendencies which hopefully will be overcome. That could be also related to why he didn’t throw deep, mainly Denbrock had no confidence the line would give him the time necessary to make those throws. Let’s see what happens when he gets a better pocket, as you say. Finally, I’m not sure his body will be able to take the pounding on all those runs, we will see.
Punter:
He did very well I thought with length and hang time and consistency even with the wet ball. Bright spot.
O-line:
On the offensive line, I am on record as having been skeptical. The Jagusaw injury may have hurt more than we thought. As you say, they’ve got to get better but we’ll see if they can. What really bothers me is that they were “gassed”, but I also predicted that. The most likely candidates for heat exhaustion are the 330 pound behemoths in the frontline. Did our vaunted sports science program and strength and conditioning coach not perform up to standard?
Ash:
Marcus Freeman’s pointed comments when he asked about our defensive choices didn’t do Ash any favors in my opinion. We will see how this sorts out.
Captains:
During the press conference Marcus Friedman’s body language plus what he actually said (basically how captains SHOULD act) affirms your point. There’s something wrong there and that may get to a weakness in the voting process. For a long time our coaches were selecting captains and maybe this is why.
These are all fair points. I particularly liked the comment about the vaunted sports science and conditioning program not helping those o-linemen avoid being gassed. Jagusah was definitely missed and just might be able to walk into the LT spot when he returns.
Eric, great write up as always. We thank you for all you do for us! Also, thanks to Andy Roberts for an insightful post-game write up.
CJ Carr did impress. Also, on his touch-down run, Love made a very good block.
Didn’t Shuler have time to run up and make contact with CJ Daniels? Looked to me as if he was only concentrating on the interception and avoided contact with Daniels as the play ended. The catch was absolutely fantastic though.
Regarding strength and conditioning, how many times did the Miami players make extra yards after contact, especially when 2 or more Irish players had already made contact? Should we be concerned for the rest of the year in this area?
I don’t think that is strength and conditioning, I think it is want to. I think Freeman is getting off lightly in that this didn’t seem like their best effort. When all the position groups get ratings as low as Eric’s, doesn’t that start at the top.
Carr was comfortable way earlier than Denbrock realized. They needed a couple earlier deep balls to loosen things up. He needed to find a way to get Love going. That 2nd and 2 situation was screaming for a Love carry.
The D looked way more passive than last year. Too many easy throws for Beck. KVA did not play enough. I’m surprised Freeman went along with Ash’s(?)plan. No “violence”.
Watching the Oline I’ve come to the conclusion that for a while our backs have made them look better than they are by breaking a big run occasionally. There doesn’t seem to be much push. Far too many 2nd and 8s. So tough for the RBs to get to the 2nd level. Truly a disappointing group, in this game.
Your usual right-on comments (remember when we used to say “right on”? It’s been a minute.)
Anyway, even while concurring that MF is fundamentally to blame for it not being the team’s best effort, and giving Rudolph a pass based on credit for last year, to speak more to the O-line issues:
Carr mentioned that the play in which he threw the pick was an RPO and boy if you look back at it Love would have had nothing but daylight
Makes you wonder how many more of the quick game screens were RPOs too
Great observation. To add to my comments in my earlier post yesterday, (not very clear I admit), I think HCMF very pointedly indicated that more of those quick screens were RPO decisions. And implied that some of that was on CJ.
Well then, I think they need to have a chat with CJ…. Maybe he has a pass first instinct needs to be coached to make better reads.
I was thinking that. I am not down on him at all — if this pass-first predilection is the case, I’d call it an issue with a first-time starting QB. Concerning which our school history is unfortunately clear, there’s gonna be issues and they help cause losses.
Also RPO reads are tricky. Plus maybe we should give credit to Miami’s new DC for schemes that make those reads tough — not to mention a surprisingly good D-line.
Anyway, it gets to coaching. Maybe also how little time he had as QB1 contributed in some subtle way.
Anyway, as Lou always said and Saban just reiterated, Week 1 to Week 2 is when you make the most improvements. And I do think the bye week may help, if MF rises to the occasion. But he’s gonna have to reach deep down.
Did Bryce Young put on TOO much weight? He looks so much less athletic than he did last year. He’s practically an interior lineman now.
Love, Fields, Raridon, and Price need to be the guys touching the ball on 90% of plays. I love how hard Faison works, but he’s just not it. Greathouse isn’t the guy. Go 2 RBs or 2 TEs every play if these other receivers can’t get open.
The LBs were fine. I expected them to be incredible. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe it’s just one game against a really athletic team.
Ditto for Moore and Gray. Why did Karson Hobbs play so many snaps? Smith needs to be playing that nickel position the majority of snaps vs good teams. There was a ton of rotation on the back end, and that should be pared down a bit against the best teams. Save that for Purdue.
Greathouse getting open wasn’t the problem. It’s never been the problem. Last year Leonard just wouldn’t throw to him for long stretches. On Sunday it was a mixed bag. He wasn’t on the field for very many non-screen pass plays…and his blocking was a mixture of sub-par and atrocious (not just on the interception, but a good block there and at worst it’s a 2 yard loss). He was wide open at least 3 or 4 times on underneath routes and Carr just went to someone else. He was all alone on two post or corner routes and the tackles forced Carr to scramble or check down…at least one of those Greathouse was the primary. There was another with a tight window that Carr could’ve completed, but chose to run. Watch the condensed game and you’ll see all of this. Unless you have access to the all 22, then it’ll be even more obvious.
Hard to know how much of it was Miami being good vs. us not being as good in some places as anticipated, but I definitely saw enough Donovan Hinish to know he should not be playing too many meaningful snaps against the better teams on our schedule. Hopefully they switch the DT rotation to really a 3-man rotation plus push Hinish back in a group with Sevellano and the USC transfer to just make up snaps whenever the top 3 need a breather, rather than have him be part of the main rotation. By contrast, Dawson is pretty clearly our best DT and maybe should get the Sheldon Day treatment of never getting off the field unless he absolutely needs it.
This brings to the fore an issue that Eric already mentioned, namely this year’s captains. I’ll toss this out just because it’s about 10 pm in France and I got no sleep Sunday night: do we have issues with the team leadership? Too soon to tell, but the way the team came out on both sides of the ball might be partly from that? Four of the six captains themselves certainly didn’t play at all well, I think we could agree?
Remember when everyone was excited because our DL held their own against the OL in fall camp? Maybe that had more to do with the OL.
It is also possible Miami is legitimately one of the top OLs in the country. They have the top OT in the country according to some sources, returned 4 starters, who all played over 500 snaps on a good OL, and their 1 new starter was a starter at Wisconsin last year (not 100% sure on this info, I may have misinterpreted some of it).
Either way, Hinish is a great 4th DT. But, it seemed pretty clear that our DL was noticeably better when he wasn’t in. I know he’s a Hinish, but big bro was 20 lbs heavier.
Related to their OL. Mauigoa was as excellent as advertised, which made Traore’s sack absolutely awesome. What a move. I didn’t notice him do much outside of that, but the potential is there for a great season if he can maintain consistency.