Notre Dame Rush Offense vs. Miami Run Defense

The ground game continues to be a major strength for the Irish as they are currently ranked 23rd in the nation on the ground with an average of 227.7 yards per game and a 6.4 yard average. Jeremiah Love leads the way with 35 attempts for 279 yards with 3 touchdowns and 8 yards per rush while continuing to make highlight worthy plays. Quarterback Riley Leonard bounced back after a rough game the previous weekend and has 34 attempts for 179 yards with 4 touchdowns and a 5.3 yard average. Jadarian Price has 20 attempts for 154 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 7.7 yard average.

The RedHawks have been weak against the run so far this season, currently ranked 110th in the nation against the run allowing opposing teams to average 182.5 yards per game with 3 touchdowns allowed and an average of 5.6 yards per rush. Even though they have played in just two games (having had a week 2 bye), they allowed 150 and 215 yards in game one and two, respectively. They have managed to make some plays in the backfield with 7 tackles for loss so far this season.

The Irish are coming off their best performance on the ground so far this season after rushing for 362 yards on 44 attempts with 6 touchdowns and 8.2 yards per rush in the win over Purdue. This is more impressive considering that two starting offensive linemen were knocked out of the game and the backups stepped in without issues in run protection. As the passing offense continues to grow, the run game will certainly be leaned on as the Irish are deep enough to where all five running backs have recorded at least 2 rushing attempts at the minimum so far. Miami being worse against the run than the pass (more on that below) means that the Irish can favor the run as needed.

Edge: Notre Dame

Miami Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Run Defense

To put it simply, the RedHawks largest weakness so far this season has been running the ball, as they are 134th (and last) in the nation running the ball with 32 yards per game and a 1.4 yard average. They also are one of four teams to not record a rushing touchdown, but it should be noted that they have only played in two games while the others have played in three games. The major reason for this drop off is that they lost Rashad Amos, the leading rusher last season, to the transfer portal after he ran for 1,075 yards on 210 attempts with 13 touchdowns and a 5.1 yard average in 2023. This has led to an ineffective run game this season as they have combined for 64 yards as opponents have easily gotten into the backfield so far this season with 12 tackles for loss. Jordan Brunson is the leading rusher with 8 attempts for 33 yards with a 4.1 yard average, but did not play in the previous game. Keyon Mozee has 13 attempts for 23 yards with a 1.9 yard average, Dylan Downing has 5 attempts for 21 yards with a 4.2 yard average, and Kevin Davis has 4 attempts for 18 yards with a 4.5 yard average.

The Irish are ranked 63rd in the nation against the run as they are allowing 124.7 yards per game with an average of 3.5 yards per rush. After allowing Texas A&M and Northern Illinois to run for 146 and 190 yards, the Irish were very effective against Purdue and held them to 38 yards on the ground. They have gotten better in terms of getting into the backfield with 11 tackles for loss with Boubacar Traore leading with 3 so far this season. The Irish have also allowed just 1 rushing touchdown this season with that lone rushing touchdown happening back in the opener at Texas A&M.

The RedHawks have been quick to abandon the run as they have averaged 22.5 attempts per game so far and heavily favor the passing game instead. Even though the Irish lost Jordan Botelho to an injury (that might be season-ending as of writing this) early on against Purdue, they were able to use defensive line depth very effectively. The Irish made strong adjustments from the second game to the third game in terms of defensive play against the run. With Miami being last in terms of rushing yards per game, look for the Irish to continue what they did to Purdue to the RedHawks. With that being said, they should still not overlook the largest weakness of Miami. Look for the Irish to rotate players and build on a strong performance from the previous game.

Edge: Notre Dame

Notre Dame Pass Offense vs. Miami Pass Defense

The Irish are currently ranked 104th in the nation when it comes to passing offense as they average 179 passing yards per game with a completion rate of 62.9 percent. After not recording any passing touchdowns in the first two games, the Irish were able to get 2 passing touchdowns in the second half of the win over Purdue. Riley Leonard has completed 49 of 78 passing attempts for 433 yards with 2 interceptions and a completion rate of 62.8 percent. Backup Steve Angeli came in on the first possession of the second half and completed 6 passes on 9 attempts for 100 yards with 2 touchdowns and a completion rate of 66.7 percent. The third and fourth string quarterbacks, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr, also saw playing time as well with Minchey leading a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Beaux Collins is the leading receiver with 12 receptions for 116 yards with a 9.7 average. Jaden Greathouse has 8 receptions for 67 yards with an 8.4 yard average while Jayden Thomas has 4 catches for 54 yards with a 13.5 yard average. Four of the tight ends have contributed so far this season as they have been making key receptions to move the chains and two of the four have the only receiving touchdowns so far. Mitchell Evans has 5 receptions for 53 yards with a 10.6 yard average, Cooper Flanagan has 3 receptions for 53 yards with 1 touchdown and a 17.7 yard average, Eli Raridon has 3 receptions for 30 yards with a 10 yard average, and Kevin Bauman has 1 reception for 8 yards and 1 touchdown and an 8 yard average. The other transfers have had contributions as well as Jayden Harrison has 4 receptions for 51 yards with a 12.8 yard average while Kris Mitchell has 4 receptions for 44 yards with an 11 yard average. The Irish have also allowed 6 sacks and 7 quarterback hurries, but just 5 pass breakups.

The RedHawks are currently ranked 54th in the nation against the pass allowing 182 passing yards per game with a completion rate of 60.9 percent with 1 touchdown allowed. The passing yards and completion rate in each game has been nearly identical. In the two games they allowed 178 and 186 passing yards on completion rates of 60 and 61.8 percent. The numbers are rather impressive in comparison to being not as strong against the run. They have not been able to get to opposing quarterbacks as much so far with just 2 sacks and 5 quarterback hurries, but have broken up 7 passes at the least.

The Irish lost Ashton Craig for the season and Billy Schrauth for at least a few weeks, which means that he likely will not return until at least the Stanford game in the first half of October. Pat Coogan and Rocco Spindler stepped into their positions and performed excellently. Both had been starters last season and will help bring some experience to a line that had a small amount of starts going into this season. This will be an area to watch as the season goes on. The passing game showed some improvements in the game against Purdue and especially in comparison to the game before that. While Riley Leonard has yet to record a passing touchdown so far this season as the only passing touchdowns came from Steve Angeli, look for there to be opportunities to find the endzone by passing the ball.

Edge: Even

Miami Pass Offense vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense

The RedHawks are ranked 29th in the nation with an average of 291 yards per game with a completion rate of 61.8 percent. They also returned a veteran quarterback in Brett Gabbert (younger brother of NFL player Blaine Gabbert), who has completed 45 passes on 72 attempts for 566 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions with a completion rate of 62.5 percent. Cade McDonald has been the best player for Miami with 16 receptions for 240 yards with an average of 15 yards per reception and 1 touchdown. The other target in the passing game stands at an impressive 6’4”, but just 190 pounds is Reggie Virgil who has 6 receptions for 109 yards with an average of 18.2 yards per reception and 1 touchdown. Running back Kevin Davis has also been solid in the receiving game with 9 receptions for 88 yards with a 9.8 yard average. Pass protection has not been strong with 7 sacks allowed along with 9 passes broken up and 10 quarterback hurries as well.

The Irish are ranked 25th in the nation against the pass allowing 140.7 passing yards per game with an amazing completion rate of 44.6 percent allowed to go with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions (1 returned for a touchdown). A deep and talented Irish secondary have held all three opponents to under 200 passing yards in each game while the most accurate an opposing team had a completion rate of 50 percent. The Irish have 5 sacks so far this season to go with impressive numbers of 9 quarterback hurries and 10 pass breakups.

The passing game is certainly the main strength for the RedHawks so far this season. With that being said though, with the running game being a weakness, it can easily lead them to being one dimensional on offense. Being able to shut down an excellent receiver in Cade McDonald and a tall target in Reggie Virgil will be extremely important as limiting Brett Gabbert’s targets will make things easier defensively along with Kevin Davis as well. Those three have a large majority of the receptions and yards as well. The secondary will face one of the best passing games that they will see all season.

Edge: Notre Dame

Special Teams

Mitch Jeter has made 4 out of 6 field goals with a long of 46 yards for an accuracy rate of 67 percent and both misses were due to being blocked. James Rendell has punted 14 times with an average of 39.1 yards per punt. Jayden Harrison has returned nearly every kickoff so far this season with 4 returns for 99 yards with a 24.8 yard average while Devyn Ford has returned just 1 kickoff for 9 yards and a 9 yard average. There have been minimal punt returns so far this season for the Irish with Max Hurleman returning 2 for 21 yards to give an average of 10.5 per return, Jaden Greathouse has 1 for 9 yards for a 9 yard average, and Aneyas Williams has 1 return for 5 yards for a 5 yard average.

Dom Dzioban has made 3 out of 4 kicks for the RedHawks for an accuracy rate of 75 percent.Alec Bevelhimer has punted 8 times for an average of 42.4 yards per punt. Kevin Davis has returned 6 kickoffs for 99 yards with an average of 16.5 yards per return. Punt returns have basically not happened as Cade McDonald has returned only 1 punt and it went for 0 yards.

Stronger Unit: Even

Final Thoughts

The Irish are coming off an impressive 66-7 win at Purdue and are facing the second team from the MAC that they will face this season in Miami. The RedHawks are coming off a 16-27 loss against Cincinnati and have had some troubles offensively by struggling to run the ball while heavily favoring the pass. Even though the Irish had injury issues in the win at Purdue, the players that stepped up certainly stepped up. With it being early enough in the season, this will allow there to be some important experience and help in the long term as well. Not overlooking any opponent will be vital as the Irish continue on their season. Miami is expected to be one of the better teams in the MAC this season and won the conference championship last season. With that being said, they are not nearly as strong of a team as Northern Illinois is, and the weaknesses the RedHawks have do play into the strengths that the Irish have. Containing a talented receiver in Cade McDonald, limiting their run game, and utilizing defensive depth will be some things to watch for in this game. Look for the Irish to build on a strong performance from the previous game as they start the first of three consecutive home games.

Prediction: Notre Dame 44, Miami 10

As always, GO IRISH!

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