Miami at Notre Dame: College Football Game of the Year
by Zak Drapeau
Sportz Nation - 11/5/2026
Catholics vs Convicts History
One of the greatest rivalries in College Football is set to write another chapter this week as my Top-2 teams of the 2026 season so far are set to face off in South Bend. The all time record between these two schools is 17-9-1 (1 vacated) in favor of Notre Dame but with Miami's dynasty in the 80's, the school's were very evenly matched.
In the 80's, Miami and Notre Dame's rivalry became more than just on the field. These teams hated each other and more than a few times that hate would show up in brawls before, during and after games.
In what used to be a yearly matchup before Notre Dame took Miami off the schedule due to the violence between the schools, Miami went 6-4 against the Irish in the 80's. Their first matchup back was the 2010 Sun Bowl, more than 20 years later which Notre Dame won resoundingly.
Since their rivalry restarted, (this time in a more competitive then hated rivalry,) Notre Dame is 3-2 in these matchups. However, Miami has won the last 2 games including last year in Week 1's kickoff game.
How We Got Here
In the most recent CFP Rankings published Tuesday, Miami was ranked #1 and Notre Dame was shockingly ranked #11 even after being a consensus Top-4 team for almost the entire year.
Miami and Notre Dame are ranked #1 and #2 respectively in my latest CFB Top-25 Power Rankings. The Hurricanes are a perfect 8-0 to start the season with the 49th ranked resume and Notre Dame is 7-1 with the 55th ranked resume, only losing to BYU.
On the year, Miami has been one of if not the best offenses in the country. Their run game has been very effective between the tackles with bruiser RBs Mark Fletcher and Javian Mallory, but their passing attack has been what separates them behind Heisman candidate Quarterback Darian Mensah, the Hurricanes.
Notre Dame's success this season has come mostly from their defense. Behind a stacked roster of pass rushers, linebackers and defensive backs, this team has a Top-6 unit both against the pass and run all year. With their defense and conservative but efficient offense, they let teams make the mistakes and consistently capitalize on them.
Miami Hurricanes
Injuries
So the big one in this game is the news that star WR Malachi Toney will have surgery on a high ankle sprain and be out for multiple weeks, including this huge rivalry matchup. Toney has been the best playmaker for the Hurricanes by far this season and has been responsible for almost half of Miami's outstanding pass game this season.
Other injuries such as elite DB OJ Frederique has been a major blow for the Canes but they've been dealing with it since Week 1.
Offense
Without Toney, this offense has a decent-sized question mark around it but is still one of the best in the country. Darian Mensah has been elite all season and should be able to rely more on WRs Cooper Barkate and Daylyn Upshaw in Toney's absense but I also expect the Hurricanes to rely on their backs more.
Miami's rush offense ranks 21st in the country in yards per game but rank Top-5 in the country in yards per carry. True Freshman Javian Mallory and veteran bruiser Mark Fletcher have split carries for the most part and have been a perfect compliment to each other with Fletcher picking up the hard yardage up the middle and Mallory being used more on the outside and on 1st downs.
Miami's plan of attack should see them try and break Notre Dame's elite run defense early and often but will need to find out how to get in a rhythm through the air without Malachi Toney. Darian Mensah leads the country in both TD:INT ratio as well as completion percentage this season as well as being #3 in yards per attempt. Now game planning around Barkate, Upshaw and TE Elija Lofton, look for Mensah to spread the ball around much more this week while implementing a lot of screens, slants and check downs.
Defense
Miami's defense ranks #1 against the run this season, both because of their very strong Front-7 but also because most teams are down two scores by the 2nd half and give up on the run game early.
Miami's defense is led by their dynamic pari of edge rushers, Damon Wilson II and Marquise Lightfoot, who both get in the backfield, stop the run and swat passes efficiently. Ranking 8th in team sacks, Miami averages 3 a game including 1.5 from these two alone.
Their Secondary has been very good but not quite elite, since OJ Frederique has been out since Week 1, CBs Xavier Lucas and Bryce Fitzgerald have stepped up tp control the Nickel and Boundary respectively. They've shut down almost every receiver they've faced even if admittedly, they haven't played any great receivers yet this season.
Notre Dame
Injuries
The Irish have been dealing with injuries for most of the season already and it got even worse this week with LB Drayk Bown set to miss an extended period of time with an ankle injury.
DBs Brauntae Johnson and DJ McKinney will also be out, Johnson being one of the best Safeties in the nation but not having played since Week 1 and McKinney missing his 2nd straight game.
Good news for the Irish is MLB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa will be back in the lineup
after missing last week's game with an ankle injury.
Offense
I mentioned earlier that Notre Dame has thrived on letting other teams make mistakes and capitalizing on it. Notre Dame's run game ranks only 38th in yards per game and their passing 34th. They do however have the least giveaways of any team this country with 2 all season.
QB C.J. Carr's efficiency has been elite this season with a 66.7 completion percentage and 18TDs to 1 INT. Their run game has been effective and efficient but not overpowering with 5.1 yards per carry and split between three different backs, Jonaz Walton, Nolan James Jr and Aneyas Williams.
Everything about this offense is well-caoched, smart and doesn't make mistakes. They'll be ready to take advantage of any Miami turnovers or battle for field positioning alike.
Defense
This will be the defining game for Notre Dame's defense that was expected to be and is playing out to be one of the best in the country. Key injuries will definitely hurt them especially in the Secondary versus this high-powered offense, but they still have key playmakers that could make the difference.
Notre Dame's defense ranks #1 in yards allowed, T-#5 in points allowed, 6th against the pass and 7th against the run. They also rank 8th in takeaways per game with 2. They also have possibly the best defensive player in the entir ecountry, CB Leonard Moore on their boundary. Moore has been up and down this season but with Toney out, should be shadowing Cooper Barkate throught this game and could effectively shut him down all night.
One area they have definitely lacked this season has been in rushing the passer, with only 15 total sacks on the year led by DE Boubacar Traore who is having a great season when accounting for his run stopping as well.
When playing Darian Mensah, this team will be ready to stop the run early but will need to get more pressure on him. Even without Toney, Mensah should be ready to stand in the pocket and deliver dimes if he has all day in the pocket.
Game Predictions
Miami defense had worst game last week AT North Carolina
Notre Dame -7.5
O/U 55.5
The Irish are 7.5-point favorites in this game, which increased from 5-point favorites from before Toney's injury. The Irish's defense combined with their efficiency is believed to move the ball against a Miami defense that truly hasn't seen an offense as good as Notre Dame's all year.
I for one, think odds makers are down playing how good Mensah is even without his star receiver especially when considering how banged up Notre Dame's defense is.
Miami will need to establish the run early or Notre Dame will be sending the hosue on blitzes and jumping on any and every, slightly errant balls Mensah throws. I still think Miami's O-line holds up and they find a way to establish long drives for points.
I EASILY have the Hurricanes +7.5 in this one and will even take them to win outright. I expect Mensah to be heroic at the end of the game and also believe the Hurricanes run game will hit over 200 yards even if they only have 4 YPC.
Notre Dame will have a decent game on offense but will have a costly turnover late thanks to the pass rush of Lightfoot and Wilson.
The Over/Under on this one is at 55.5 and even with Miami's elite offense, I will take the Under 55.5 for the game.
My final score prediction: Miami 24-21
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-Z.D.
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