First, thanks for letting me join and chime in on this Sunday's game from a Notre Dame perspective. Yes, there are some ND fans (not unlike any fanbase) that think we shouldn't have a problem beating Miami on Sunday. I've read similar posts from Miami fans on this message board - we're all fans and support our guys - that's who we are and what makes this fun: tribalism.
Second, I'll tell you the mindset of educated ND Fans and where we're coming from - why there's reason for us to be confident in certain areas and why we're hoping for the best in others. I've seen some other posts here that give grades/analysis by position group, which is how my mind works as well, but I won't compare our position groups to your opposing groups (EX: ND RBs vs. Miami DL/LBs). I think all positions rooms are interconnected in the success of collective group - it's not quite that binary to me. Forgive me, this will be heavy on Notre Dame insight. I know a decent amount about Miami, but obviously my Notre Dame intel is far greater.
Finally, I have no idea what's going to happen on Sunday night. I believe it'll be a good game, and probably pretty low scoring. I do know this Notre Dame team is not going to be intimidated by the environment (except maybe CJ since it's his first start). Freeman is the real deal and this is a team full of players who played at A&M last year in front of 107k (I was there) and made it to all the way to the national championship game last year (I was there as well). That's really good experience to draw on.
RB: We believe this to be the most talented and deepest RB room in America. Jeremiyah Love is a different caliber of player, one we haven't seen in South Bend in a long time. We also believe his #2, Jadarian Price, is an NFL-caliber back. I think we'll see some different looks from ND's offense this year with both on the field, and possibly splitting out Love into the slot to force 1:1 coverage with a LB or Safety. That's a matchup we would like very much. This is an A++ room, no doubt.
OL: There were a lot of people considering the Notre Dame OL as the preseason favorite for the Joe Moore award this year. I think they'd be a contender if Charles Jagusah was healthy all year, but even then, I have questions. They return a lot from last year, but we also struggled in run block and pass pro against the better teams we played. Does Bain switch sides? I'd guess he'd have more success against our LT, Anthonie Knapp, who is undersized for the position. RT, Aamil Wagner, is much larger and has been mentioned in All-America conversations. There's lots more to say on this Miami DL/ND OL matchup. Overall: I think ND's floor in this room is a B+, but could be an A-. Need to see more.
WR/TE: We believe we've upgraded the WR room since last year, pretty significantly. I don't know that we have the 'homerun hitter' we've been missing for a long time, but I think this is a very solid group. Greathouse showed he can be depended on in the playoff and we added Malachi Fields from UVA and Will Pauling from Wisconsin. There's a good amount of young talent as well. Eli Raridon at TE could be a matchup nightmare and should be CJ Carr's best friend. 6'7"/250 and can move. It'll be interesting to see this matchup with an overhauled Miami secondary. Overall, I give this group a B+.
QB: Honestly, who knows ... CJ has a lot of talent and the ceiling is high, but he's obviously young. Having your first game on the road against a good Miami team is a tough spot. He's a gun-slinger and rumor is he presses. With that comes some amazing throws, but also silly mistakes. My hope is the game plan and Miami-specific installs limit those and he throws less than 2 INTs on Sunday. I tend to think he'll get a lot better throughout the year and I certainly wish he'd get 2 or 3 cupcakes before Miami. Hopefully it's a B.
DL: Not having Jordan Bothelo for Miami hurts. He sets the edge really well and is extremely valuable in the run game. Luckily, there's depth at DE, and ND will run this by committee. A name to keep an eye on is, Bryce Young. He's true sophomore and he's 6'7"/275. We're pretty high on him and expect a lot of production this year. The interior DL was our concern pre-camp, but we might be okay here. We've heard really good things about Jason Onye at DT (long story with him over the years). So, here's an area we're 'hoping' is solid - we'll have to see. This is another area ND will run by committee to keep a less talented IDL fresh. Edge: A- / IDL: B.
LB: We're really good here. Not going to blow you away like Saban's LBs or Georgia's LBs when they've been really good, but probably the best LB group ND has had since the 90s? Might be. No super stars (hopefully 'yet'), but we have four really good ones (Drayk Bowen is the highest PFF returning starter at LB in college football). We blitz them a lot to pressure the QB, which we absolutely need to do to win this game. Beck is outstanding when he has time, but he was one of the worst in the Power 4 last year when pressured. We have the ability to do this because of our secondary (see below). Overall: A- (could be A)
Secondary: Here's a group we're pretty confident in. Leonard Moore is a pre-season first team All-American and the #1 PFF ranked CB in America. Opposite him, is Christian Gray, who's a very good college corner. Sometimes he gets picked on because Moore has taken away half the field. Miami has young talent, and these guys have to do their job, so the DL and LBs can focus on stopping the run. Adon Shuler, at Safety, is a guy we like a lot. He's going to be more of a roamer in the outfield this year, whereas last year he played a lot of underneath. We run a 4-2-5 with a lot of pressure and we brought in Devonta Smith, Alabama's starting nickel from last year to play the slot position. Expect to see him on blitzes as well. Overall: this group is an A.
As you can tell - this comes down to QB play for us. There's a lot to like about this team and as long as they stop the run and take care of the ball on Sunday, we'll have a great opportunity to win. Miami has some dudes. As I said before, I expect a low scoring game and it likely coming down to the 4th quarter. Sorry for the long post - couldn't get to everything, but happy to interact.
I appreciate the effort and the respect, and I do think it will be a good game.
I will take issue with some of your points, and we can agree to disagree.
First, on the "intimidation" and crowd factor, I do believe you are falling into the same trap as every other ND fan. IT'S NOT ABOUT CROWD SIZE. OK, sure, Texas A&M can sell a lot of tickets. I too went to College Station when Miami played there, and it wasn't that big of a deal. The ND fans seem to think that this is a linear argument, that twice as many fans will mean things are twice as loud. But I spent a whole day around those "thank you for coming to the game" aTm types, and it was NOTHING like what HALF AS MANY fans sounded like in Miami in 2017 when we last hosted ND. There's a whole different intensity that comes from how much the average Miami fan hates Notre Dame. And please don't act like playing in a bowl game in Miami is the same. The reality is that both Miami AND Notre Dame fans who were there in 2017 have BOTH said that it was the loudest crowd they've ever heard.
Now, as to running backs...I'm not trying to say that Jeremiyah Love is not good. He is a very good RB. But to turn that into "most talented and deepest RB room in America" is an overstatement, and perhaps an indication that you are not watching enough of other teams and/or believing a generalized viewpoint while ignoring specifics. First, in 2024, the PRIMARY running thread was QB Riley Leonard. While Love had more YARDS, Leonard had more CARRIES. Not only does ND lose Leonard's carries and yards, it also changes the nature of how/where/when Love and Price will take handoffs now that they will be getting them from Carr. Second, in 2004, Notre Dame played in 16 games to Miami's 13. Yes, Love's numbers look greeat.
But the MOST carries that Love had in 2024 was 16 in one game. The most YARDAGE Love had in one game was 137. And don't get me wrong, Love was a fantastic home run hitter. But in 16 games in 2024, he had FIVE 100-yard games. Riley Leonard had TWO. ****, Jordan Lyle, our freshman #3 running back had TWO 100-yard games (and he didn't even play all 13 games for us).
Jeremiyah Love:
vs. Purdue - 10 for 109 yards (long of 48, meaning he went 9 for 61 the rest of the game)
vs. Navy - 12 for 102 yards (long of 64, meaning he went 11 for 38 the rest of the game)
vs. UVa - 16 for 137 yards (long of 76, meaning he went 15 for 61 the rest of the game)
vs. Army - 7 for 130 yards (long of 68, meaning he went 6 for 62 the rest of the game)
vs. Indiana - 8 for 108 yards (long of 98, meaning he went 7 for 10 the rest of the game)
****, I'd love to have those five amazing runs. Those were his five best runs of the year. But in his 5 worst games, Love gained 3 yards, 19 yards, 19 yards, 34 yards, and 36 yards. So, you know, some high highs and some low lows.
Sixteen games. Five great runs. Without those 5 runs, Love NEVER has a 100 yard game in 2024. That's a very fine line...
And then in sixteen games, Jadarian Price had ONE 100-yard game, against USC. He went for 12 rushes for 111 yards with a 36-yard run aiding the effort. He did have a 65-yarder against F$U and a 70 yarder against Purdue.
Again, perhaps Love and Price are going to be an amazing tandem in 2025. Perhaps. But I think it is a stretch to say that this is the best running back room in the country, particularly without Riley Leonard as the primary runner to occupy opposing defensive lines.
As for wide receivers, you say that ND upgraded the WR pretty significantly. But you lost 4 of your top 6 WRs and you signed two guys from the Portal. I'll give you full marks for Malachi Fields, but Pauling is a tiny and fragile slot who suffered multiple injuries in the past year or so. Again, I'm not making any sort of comparison here, Miami lost 4 guys and signed 3 in the Portal. But the point here is to analyze your team. And, hey, if Fields and Pauling get open against Miami, I'll give you the props. I just don't see this major upgrade, though Miami would certainly like to have landed Fields.
Finally, as to quarterback, I'm sure you know where I'm taking this. Maybe Carr will be good someday. Someday. I just don't think it is going to happen for Carr and ND on August 31st. We honestly expect to see Minchey at some point.
I won't go into a lot of depth on the ND defense. Just remember, Beck has been carving up SEC defenses for the last 2 years. Maybe ND will field its best defense in the past 10 years. I just don't think it will be the difference maker against Beck.
I hope you all have safe travels and a good weekend that ends in a very painful and humilating last few hours of Sunday evening for your fans.
See you soon. I'll be the Catholic guy yelling horrible things at your players and fans that will trigger my need to go to Confession next week.
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