Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 SEPT. 21, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI (OHIO) est in the FBS. A passing efficiency defense score of 96.77, only better than Akron, New Mexico State, Wyoming and Air Force. If you're keeping track, yes, that made Notre Dame's the worst among all power conference programs. Quarterback Riley Leonard had an ESPN PAA, a figure that tracks the number of points contributed by a QB accounting for QBR and how much the QB plays, of minus-3.2. Yes, the negative symbol means he's hurting the team by being on the field. The figure ranked 106th among the 135 quarter- backs ESPN assigned a score to through Week 2. With senior tight end Mitch Evans not up to speed in the first month of the season while com- ing back from his ACL injury, it's been graduate student Beaux Collins or sophomore Jaden Great- house or bust as far as Notre Dame pass catchers go. Collins led the Irish with 10 catches for 107 yards through Week 2. Greathouse had 8 for 67. Checking in at No. 3 in both areas was graduate student Kris Mitchell with 4 for 44. Even the highly talented tailback tandem of Love and Price has not gotten involved through the air. Love, who worked out as a wide receiver in some spring ball practices, had 3 catches for 13 yards through a pair of appearances. Price had one re- ception for a loss of a yard. Miami had a decent pass defense in 2023, rank- ing 27th in the FBS after allowing 198.1 passing yards per game. Northern Illinois ranked sixth in that category last season at 171.2, and the Huskies held up nicely against the pass in South Bend in Week 2. It could be a similar story for the Irish if they do not figure some things out on their own end. One more point on the matchup — Notre Dame needs to look out for veteran edge rusher Brian Ugwu. He had 8 sacks among 12 tackles for loss last season. And 62 total tackles, too, which is a very rare number for a defensive lineman to hit. Notre Dame enthusiasts know that very well by way of all the fanfare Howard Cross III received for making 66 total tackles last season. Until Notre Dame proves it has an advantage against anyone through the air, the Irish will not receive the benefit of the doubt. Advantage: Miami (Ohio) SPECIAL TEAMS Miami senior kicker Dom Dzioban attempted the first kicks of his career against Northwestern in Week 1. He went 2 of 3 with makes from 26 and 43 yards and a miss from 50 yards. Notre Dame's Mitch Jeter, meanwhile, missed his first attempt from inside 50 yards of his career in the Week 2 loss to NIU. He had one blocked from 48 yards, then had the game-winning attempt blocked from 62 yards. The South Carolina transfer was previously 23 of 23 from inside 50. Whether or not it will be a field goal exhibi- tion is up in the air. Just know it probably will not be a pure punting display. Miami's Alec Bevel- himer averaged just 39.0 yards on 4 punts against Northwestern, and in the first two games of his American football career Australian James Rendell punted 10 times for an average of 39.8 yards. For reference, Boise State's James Ferguson-Reynolds led the nation through Week 2 with a punting aver- age of 49.7 yards per boot. Notre Dame kick returner Jayden Harrison is quietly having another solid season doing what he does, averaging 24.7 yards per kickoff return through two games to place him 18th in the FBS. He's one lane away from drastically increasing that average and putting himself right toward the top of the list like he was at Marshall last year. For that, we'll give Notre Dame a slight edge here. Any team that has a return threat like Harrison tends to have at least a little upper hand in special teams. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING This is a battle between a 56-year-old in his 11th season as a head coach, all with the same program, in Chuck Martin and a 38-year-old in his third season as a head coach, all with Notre Dame, in Marcus Freeman. Martin just had the best season of his career in leading the RedHawks to an 11-3 finish with a victory over Toledo in the MAC Championship Game. Never in the previous nine seasons before 2023 had Miami won double-digit games under his watch, and it could have been the second-best sea- son in program history standing alone with 12 wins if the RedHawks didn't lose, 13-9, to Appalachian State in the Cure Bowl. Freeman, meanwhile, is nowhere near setting program-best records at Notre Dame. He's still very much in "figure it out" mode as a head coach. In hindsight, that should have been expected for someone in his mid-30s taking over a brand as big as Notre Dame. With Martin having just laid down his best sea- son and Freeman suffering yet another befuddling September loss to an inferior foe, the edge here has to go to the former — even after Miami's lackluster season-opening loss to Northwestern. Advantage: Miami (Ohio) INTANGIBLES Notre Dame has not lost back-to-back home games since falling to Michigan State and Duke in September 2016. The Irish are also 10-1 all time against MAC opponents. Recency bias says Notre Dame needs to watch out for the RedHawks, but longstanding history in multiple regards says the Irish should have a good amount of things going for them in this one. Advantage: Notre Dame Miami (Ohio) linebacker Ty Wise racked up 122 total tackles and 8 sacks in 2023. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI (OHIO) ATHLETICS