Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 13, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY COREY BODDEN I n the late 1980s, there may not have been a more heated and more nationally impactful rivalry than the Notre Dame-Miami matchups. From 1987-89, the winner of the Notre Dame-Miami game went on to claim the national championship with Miami claiming the 1987 and 1989 ti- tles, and the Irish winning it in 1988. If it weren't for a 29-20 Notre Dame win in 1990, the Hurricanes may have won that season's title as well. During that four-year stretch, the combined record of both programs was 85-12, with Miami finishing 44-4 and Notre Dame 41-8. The teams have met just three times since that 1990 battle, after Miami joined the Big East Conference. Notre Dame has claimed all three meetings with a 33-17 win in the 2010 Sun Bowl, a 41-3 thrashing of the Hurricanes in 2012 at Soldier Field in Chicago and a 30-27 victory last season in South Bend. The Notre Dame-Miami rivalry may have lost some of its luster, given only one team was ranked during the pre- vious three meetings. That all changes in 2017, with both programs trending upward after a 4-8 campaign by the Irish in 2016 and Mi- ami on its way to potentially its first 10-win season since 2003. This season marks the first meeting between the two programs with each team ranked inside the top 25 since 1990. Both teams are also in the hunt for a potential College Football Playoff berth, which would be a first in each school's history. "This one could conjure up mem- ories of the old Miami-Notre Dame rivalry days because of the stakes in- volved for both teams, and I am sure TV will hype it up a ton," said Gary Ferman, publisher of CaneSport.com. The Hurricanes are in year two un- der former longtime Georgia head coach Mark Richt, who helped guide the program to a 9-4 season in 2016 that culminated with a 31-14 win over West Virginia in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Redshirt junior quarterback and first-year starter Malik Rosier leads a Miami offense that ranked 19th in the country in both total offense (465.6 yards per contest) and passing offense (298.1 yards per game) through seven contests. In those seven games, Rosier com- pleted 143 of 252 (56.7 percent) passes for 2,071 yards with 17 touchdowns and just four interceptions. "He has done better than expected," Ferman said. "But one concern was that his worst game was against North Carolina. Is he getting beaten up? Is he mentally tired? He has never done this before, so those are all things to watch. "He has been a great leader, and the biggest thing is that he has stayed calm in pressure situations and delivered the ball on the money with games on the line." Rosier has numerous weapons on the outside that can create big plays in the passing game. The Hurricanes boast three receivers — sophomore Ahmmon Richards, freshman Jeff Thomas and senior Darrell Langham — that have caught at least 10 passes and averaged more than 20 yards per grab. Still, senior Braxton Berrios has emerged as the top target for Rosier with team highs in receptions (32), re- ceiving yards (415) and touchdown catches (six). Senior tight end Chris Herndon IV is not far behind with 30 catches for 331 yards and three scores. Richards and Thomas have com- bined for 25 catches for 533 yards and three touchdowns. "Playmakers," Ferman said of what makes Miami's passing attack effec- tive. "That's the strength of the Miami team — the receivers and the tight end and the capability to get the ball to the GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI (FLA.) Blast From The Past The Irish and Hurricanes are set to meet as ranked teams for the first time since 1990 Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. MIAMI (FLA.) Game Info Date: Nov. 11, 2017. Site: Hard Rock Stadium (64,767). Kickoff: 8 p.m. Television: ABC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129) and on Notre Dame's IMG affiliates. Series Facts: This will be the fourth meeting between Notre Dame and Miami (Fla.) since 2010 with Notre Dame winning the previous three matches and five of the previous six dating back to 1988. Notre Dame leads the overall series 18-7-1. Head Coaches: Miami — Mark Richt (17-4, second season); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (67-32, eighth season). Noting Miami (Fla.): The Hurricanes are aiming to beat Notre Dame for the first time since 1989, which is also the last time they hosted a matchup between the two programs … The No.-7 ranked Canes topped the No. 1 Irish 27-10 in the Orange Bowl in that contest … Miami's current 12-game winning streak heading into its matchup versus Virginia Tech Nov. 4 was the longest nationwide at the Football Bowl Subdivision level, and the program's longest winning streak since the 2002 season, when the Canes finished the tail end of a 34-game winning streak … The Hurricanes started 7-0 overall for the first time since 2013, and began 5-0 in league play for the first time since joining the ACC in 2004 … Richt grew up in Boca Raton, Fla., played quarterback as a student-athlete at Miami and is a 1982 graduate of the university. Sophomore defensive end Joe Jackson helps anchor a unit that ranked 19th in the country in scoring defense (18.8 points per game) while helping propel the Hurricanes' 7-0 start this season. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS