Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 OCT. 31, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI Making Mensah look more like a good college quarterback than a cheat code felt like a win for Clemson's defense, and yet the Tigers still allowed Miami to score 41 points with the help of a pick six by the Miami defense. Miami leaned on a successful rushing attack — 35 car- ries for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns — to show it's not one-dimensional. "I'd say our identity is just to be the more physical team," Mensah said. "If we're physical on the perimeter, inside, with our releases — just all around — if we're the more physical team, I think we're going to be all right on offense. "I think that we're so multiple that I don't know if we have a true identity. We can do it all. It really just depends on how we want to attack teams each week." FINDING A CRACK Miami will always prioritize offensive line play under head coach Mario Cris- tobal, a former offensive lineman and offensive line coach. But the Hurricanes lost three offensive line starters to the NFL Draft, and that trio has been harder to replace than Beck. That's not to say Miami's offensive line has struggled. It just hasn't proven to be elite quite yet. The Hurricanes al- lowed Mensah to be sacked 4 times in the first five games. Two of those sacks came against Clemson, but they didn't shake Mensah's confidence. "I have full trust in my guys up front," Mensah said. "I think they've done an excellent job all year, and I think they'll continue to do that." A Notre Dame defense that racked up 15 sacks and 7 interceptions in its first six games of the season might have something to say about that. However, Mensah became the first FBS quarter- back since 2019 to throw 15 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions in his first five games. The addition of Mensah has allowed the Hurricanes to say they have the best quarterback on the field in every game they've played this season. A showdown with Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr might make that less of a certainty, but how Mensah manages what the Irish defense throws at him could determine the outcome. ✦ Three Things To Know About Miami 1. Miami's Mohamed Toure Is A Linebacker For The Ages Should Notre Dame freshman running back Jonaz Walton run into Miami line- backer Mohamed Toure Nov. 7 during the course of one of college football's biggest showdowns, the contrast in experience will be staggering. Walton was in fifth grade when Toure started his college football career as an early enrollee at Rutgers in January 2019. In fact, Irish second-year defensive co- ordinator Chris Ash recruited Toure out of Pleasantville, N.J., and was his head coach at Rutgers for nine months before being dismissed early in the 2019 season. When the Hurricanes come to Notre Dame Stadium, the former three-star pros- pect will be deep into his eighth college season and his second in a Miami uniform. Toure was able to petition for the eighth season based on a traditional redshirt sea- son, the COVID free pass of 2020, and two seasons wiped out by ACL tears (2022 and 2024). Toure made an immediate impact in his first Miami season. He started all 16 games and led the Hurricanes with 84 tackles on their way to a College Football Playoff Na- tional Championship Game matchup with eventual champion Indiana. Toure is a rarity but not unique in terms of long college careers. Former East Tennessee State and Temple linebacker Jared Folks (2014-21) is believed to be the first eighth-year senior. He then was outdone by former Oregon and Miami tight end Cam McCormick, who logged a record ninth col- lege season in 2024. 2. It Just Means More? While Miami's ACC schedule strength has come under scrutiny, the Hurricanes do own some impres- sive scheduling bragging rights of sorts. Their five-game win streak against SEC schools is the longest active such streak against that league from a school outside that conference. It's also the second-longest this century when it comes to an outsider taking on the SEC. Florida State strung together six straight during the 2013-16 seasons. Miami's wins have included two each against Texas A&M and Florida and one last season against Ole Miss. Two of the five wins were in the College Football Playoff. Miami's most recent loss to SEC competition came during head coach Mario Cristobal's first season as the Hurricanes' head coach, a 17-9 loss to Texas A&M in September 2022. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, meanwhile, is 4-1 versus SEC competition since taking over at Notre Dame. Predecessor Brian Kelly was 3-4. 3. Playing With The Lead The Hurricanes haven't been a part of many fourth-quarter comebacks under fifth-year head coach Mario Cristobal — either their own or those staged against them. Going into an Oct. 17 matchup with rival Florida State, Miami had trailed 20 times going into the fourth quarter and found a way to win on only four of those occasions. On the flip side, Miami has been even tougher to rally against. The Hurricanes were 35-2 under Cristobal when leading after three quarters going into the Florida State game, and 77-3 (.963) going back to 2017. — Eric Hansen Linebacker Mohamed Toure is in his eighth season of college football and his second with Miami. He started all 16 games and made 84 tackles for the Canes in 2025. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS