Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538217
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 43 GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI Notre Dame (2017). Things seem to be on the up and up entering the fourth season of the Mario Cristobal era. The Canes have gone from five to seven to 10 wins during his tenure. "There's just a ton of energy and momentum surrounding our program right now," Cristobal said in late July at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff event. Notre Dame is also entering the fourth season with its current head coach, Marcus Freeman, at the helm. And like Miami, the Irish have improved every year Freeman has been on the job; nine wins in 2022, 10 wins in 2023 and a whopping 14 wins in 2024. Fourteen wins. That's a number the Irish would love to match or exceed in 2025. If they do, it'll mean their season will have ended, one way or the other, at the same stadium at which it started. Yep. The national championship game is at Hard Rock. Now we're in the fu- ture — a place Freeman does not like to reside. "I try not to waste time thinking about an uncertain future," Freeman said. "I tell our players all the time, 'Your future is uncertain.' So, I try not to waste time thinking about things that aren't in the moment." What is in the moment: this first game at Miami. Freeman magnificently prepared Notre Dame for a game of similar magnitude at another hostile environment at this time a year ago. His Irish prevailed, 23-13, at Texas A&M in last year's primetime Labor Day week- end mega matchup. That was a tough one not decided un- til the closing minutes. It doesn't get any easier in Miami Gardens this time around — especially since those same Aggies who gave the Irish all they could handle last year are looming in Week 3, Game 2 of Notre Dame's 2025 quest. "We start the season with some ding- ers, now," Freeman said. "So, we can't ease into the season." READYING FOR THE CHALLENGE Both Notre Dame coordinators have unique challenges in preparing for Miami. For offensive coordinator Mike Den- brock, it's having to go against a brand- new coordinator on the other sideline. The Hurricanes hired Minnesota's Co- rey Hetherman to replace Lance Guidry, whose 2024 defense did not satisfacto- rily hold its end of the bargain in pair- ing with an offense that was generated by the eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, quarterback Cam Ward. Denbrock expects a chess match in Week 1, eerily similar to battling Texas A&M in the debut of the Mike Elko era. Elko went from Durham, N.C., to Col- lege Station, Texas. "You go back to last year, we had to study a lot of Duke tape and then com- pare that with their personnel that they had on the roster and try to formulate the best plan you possibly can," Den- brock said. "And then, you just gotta be ready to be light on your feet and make in-game adjustments and get mov- ing once you see, what's the structure gonna be? 2025 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Aug. 31 at Miami (ABC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 Texas A&M (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20 Purdue (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Arkansas (ABC) 12 p.m. Oct. 4 Boise State (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 NC State (Peacock) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 18 Southern Cal (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Boston College TBA Nov. 8 Navy (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 22 Syracuse (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at Stanford TBA 2025 MIAMI SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Aug. 31 Notre Dame (ABC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6 Bethune-Cookman (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Sept. 13 South Florida (CW) 4:30 p.m. Sept. 20 Florida TBA Oct. 4 at Florida State TBA Oct. 17 Louisville (ESPN/2) 7 p.m. Oct. 25 Stanford TBA Nov. 1 at SMU TBA Nov. 8 Syracuse TBA Nov. 15 NC State TBA Nov. 22 at Virginia Tech TBA Nov. 29 at Pittsburgh TBA Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. MIAMI Date: Aug. 31, 2025 Site: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET Television: ABC Radio: Notre Dame IMG affiliates Series facts: The Fighting Irish lead the all-time series, 18-8-1. The Hurricanes won the latest matchup, 41-8, at Hard Rock Stadium. Before that, the Irish had won four consecutive meetings with Miami spanning from 1990 to 2016. Head coaches: Miami — Mario Cristobal (84-76, 15th season overall; 22-16 at Miami, fourth season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (33-10, fourth season at Notre Dame and overall) Noting Miami: The Hurricanes had their best season since 2017 in 2024, posting 10 wins in each of those years … Miami rose to as high as No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 last year before losing three of four games to finish the season … So much of the Canes' success was attributed to Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward, who threw for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns; Georgia transfer Carson Beck is Ward's replacement at quarterback … While Miami posted the nation's No. 1 scoring offense at 43.9 points per game in 2024, the Hurricanes had the country's No. 68 scoring defense, allowing 25.3 points per game. Mario Cristobal guided Miami to its first 10-win season since 2017 in 2024, but his Hurricanes lost three of their final four games. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS