Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 21, 2024 35 GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI (OHIO) BY JACK SOBLE L ast time Miami (Ohio) faced Notre Dame, RedHawks head coach Chuck Martin tried to temper expectations. At the time, Miami was 2-2 with losses to Marshall and Cincinnati and wins over Austin Peay and Central Michigan. The win over the Chippe- was — and Martin's inside knowledge of the Irish — gave some fans confidence entering a matchup with then-No. 22 Notre Dame. Martin, though, was realistic. "If you went to recess and one team got the first 85 picks, it probably wouldn't be much of a fair fight," Martin said, according to NBC Sports. "People that don't understand that have no idea what's going on. They have delusional beliefs of what can happen." Martin would know. He coached at Notre Dame from 2010-13, serving as recruiting coordinator his first two sea- sons back when the Chad Bowdens of the world hadn't emerged as a force in college football. And he was right. Brian Kelly's Irish smacked his RedHawks 52- 17 later that week. However, against Notre Dame teams led by third-year head coach Marcus Freeman, the teams with pick No. 86 have done alarmingly well. In 2022, the Irish lost to Marshall. And now in 2024, they lost to North- ern Illinois. Sun Belt and Mid-Ameri- can Conference teams have a chance at Notre Dame Stadium, and Miami was the class of the MAC in 2023. The RedHawks went 11-3 (7-1 MAC) and beat Toledo in the conference championship game. Despite a 13-6 loss to Northwestern in Week 1, Martin's group brings back many of its core play- ers and is the favorite to run the table on Tuesday and Wednesday nights again. At least one of those returning core players, graduate student linebacker and reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year Matt Salopek, has sky-high expectations for the encore. "Obviously, we had a phenomenal season last year, but we just had to flush it down the toilet in January," Salopek told The Miami Student. "It is a brand- new season for us with new goals, and the expanded playoff gives us a chance to be that 12th team." STARS RETURNED TO DEFENSE You can take Martin's players via the transfer portal, but he won't let them go without a fight. And afterward, he's not afraid to call you out. Miami looked like it would be able to hold on to kicker Graham Nichol- son, who was a unanimous first-team All-American and the Lou Groza Award winner last season. But in the spring portal window, he transferred to Ala- bama for his senior year after going 27 of 28 as a junior in Oxford, Ohio. When Miami's in-house reporter prefaced a question with "Special teams, you lost your kicker" in August, Martin didn't hold back. "We didn't lose him," Martin said. "He's at Alabama. We know exactly where he's at. … Alabama stole our kicker. They illegally recruited our kicker and stole him from us. That's a fact." This attitude, as well as Martin's players' belief in what he's build- ing, might have helped minimize the RedHawks' portal losses last season. They had only four players transfer to Power Four schools: Nicholson, run- ning back Rashad Amos (Ole Miss), wide receiver Gage Larvadain (South C a ro l i n a ) a n d e d ge r u s h e r C a i d e n Woullard (Oklahoma). Woullard's exit, along with his 9.5 sacks, hurts Miami's defense. But Salo- pek, along with second-team All-MAC linebacker Ty Wise and defensive end Brian Ugwu, should make a defense that ranked eighth in the nation with 15.9 points allowed per game one of the elite units in the Group of Five once again. While the offense did not hold up its end of the bargain in Week 1 at North- western, the defense did what it could. "None of us are very happy," Martin told The Miami Student. "[We] had a chance on the road to beat a Big Ten team and didn't take advantage of it. … It was a very physical, defensive battle on both sides." ROUND TWO Notre Dame will try again versus the class of the MAC, this time hosting Miami (Ohio) Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. MIAMI (OHIO) Date: Sept. 21, 2024 Site: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC/Peacock Radio: Notre Dame IMG affiliates Series facts: The Irish are 2-0 against the RedHawks, winning 46-0 in 1909 and 52-17 in 2017. Head coaches: Miami (Ohio) — Chuck Martin (56-64, 11th season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (21-9, third season). Noting Miami (Ohio): The RedHawks' last Power Four-level win came at Cincinnati (31-24 in over- time) in the annual battle for the Victory Bell on Sept. 16, 2023 … Miami (Ohio) allowed 3.6 rushing yards per carry and 6.6 passing yards per attempt last season, both ranking in the upper quartile of the FBS … The RedHawks' offensive line returns four starters — including second-team All-MAC tackles Will Jados and Reid Holskey — who helped the team rush for 158.1 yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry in 2023 … Miami (Ohio) cornerback Raion Strader returns after being named an FWAA Freshman All-American … Wide receiver Cade McDonald was the RedHawks' primary punt returner last season, and they finished 15th in the nation in 2023 in punt return average. Matt Salopek, a graduate student linebacker and the reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year, is one of the top tacklers in the country. He notched 112 in 2021, 124 in 2022 and an astounding 144 in 2023. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI (OHIO) ATHLETICS