Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 45 GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI BY JACK SOBLE MIAMI RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Miami was the sixth-best team in yards per rush- ing attempt in 2024 at 5.67, one spot ahead of Notre Dame at 5.66. The Hurricanes' primary run- ning back, Damien Martinez, is now competing for an NFL roster spot with the Seattle Seahawks. Martinez finished 11th among qualified backs with 4.46 yards after contact per attempt, so replacing him will be a challenge. However, that doesn't mean they'll regress by any stretch. To begin with, Miami returns four of its starters on its offensive line. The headliner is junior right tackle Francis Mauigoa, a projected top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Mauigoa is an incredible mover for his size at 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, and he made second-team All-ACC last season. He and senior right guard Anez Cooper should form one of the more dominant right sides in the country. The only non-returning starter is TCU transfer addition James Brockermeyer, who is a better pass blocker than run blocker but still graded above- average in the run game, per Pro Football Fo- cus. A line that produced first-down carries at the second-highest rate in the nation and first in the Power Four is still extremely strong. Coaching is another plus for the Hurricanes; offensive line coach Alex Mirabal is considered one of the best at his craft in college football and has produced back-to-back seasons of top-20 ef- ficiency in Coral Gables. As for Martinez' replace- ment, a rotation led by junior Mark Fletcher Jr. (last season's No. 2 back) should be more than productive enough. Notre Dame's rush defense tied for 37th in yards per carry with Boise State at 3.78. The Irish have been better at defending the pass than defend- ing the run under head coach Marcus Freeman, but there's reason to believe the run defense can improve in 2025. For one, Notre Dame's linebackers will have a year of experience that they did not have a year ago and should be less prone to misdirection. The defensive tackles could be better at defending the run, too; Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills were excellent but they were better as pass rushers. Vet- erans Gabriel Rubio and Jared Dawson are more focused on stuffing the run. Still, the linebackers and defensive tackles need to show they can make those improvements. Week 1 offers a significant challenge. Advantage: Miami MIAMI PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Miami paid a great deal of money to acquire for- mer Georgia quarterback Carson Beck for his last year of eligibility. Beck injured his elbow in the SEC Championship game against Texas. He's healthy now but missed spring practice entirely. Sound familiar? It should. Notre Dame ran into the same issue with Riley Leonard last season, with the key difference being Miami reportedly paid way more money for their rent-a-quarterback. Both Leonard and Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock have pointed to missing spring practice as the No. 1 reason their passing offense was as disastrous as it was early last season. Beck is more polished than Leonard was at this time last year, but that could still be an issue for the Hurricanes. If it's not, then it just depends on which version of Beck Miami gets. Is it the one who threw for 9.5 yards per attempt with 6 interceptions in 2023? Or the one who threw for 7.8 yards per attempt with an SEC-leading 12 interceptions in 2024? That question, more than anything else, will determine the Hurricanes' season. Protection will not be an issue for Beck, which it was at times with the Bulldogs. The other big question mark is the pass catchers, who are a com- bination of solid yet unspectacular graduate trans- fers (CJ Daniels, Tony Johnson, Keelan Marion) and high-ceiling but unproven youngsters (Joshisa Trader, Ray Ray Joseph, Malachi Toney). The Hurricanes have high hopes for Trader in particular; they think he's a star in the making. But he, like the others, needs to prove it on the field. That will be difficult against a very good and highly opportunistic Notre Dame secondary. Soph- omore Leonard Moore is considered the nation's best cornerback, and if junior Christian Gray can rediscover his early 2024 consistency, he might not be far behind him. The Irish also have more playable safeties than they know what to do with, led by junior Adon Shuler. Notre Dame has featured college football's top pass efficiency defense in back-to-back seasons. While adjusting to life without Xavier Watts is a hurdle the Irish need to clear, early returns in fall camp indicate a unit that could be just as dominant. Beck must protect the football much better than he did last season to give Miami a chance. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MIAMI RUN DEFENSE Miami's run defense ranked slightly ahead of Notre Dame's last season in opponent yards per carry at 3.75 (35th in the country). The Hurricanes are very strong on the edges, with solid if unspec- tacular veteran Akheem Mesidor on one end and absolute stud Rueben Bain Jr. on the other (more on him later). On PaPer Transfer quarterback Carson Beck led Georgia to a 24-3 record in 27 games as a starter, throwing for 7,912 yards and 58 touchdowns in his career. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS