Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 13, 2017 39 son, check out its four-game "Octo- berfest:" Oct. 7: Miami 24, Florida State 20 With 1:24 left, the Seminoles ral- lied to take the lead in what looked like would be their eighth straight win versus the Hurricanes. However, with six seconds left, Miami quar- terback Malik Rosier found wideout Darrell Langham on a 23-yard touch- down for the win. Oct. 14: Miami 25, Georgia Tech 24 With four seconds left, Miami Mi- chael Badgley's 24-yard field was made possible on a semi-miraculous 28-yard catch by Langham to convert a fourth down after the ball had been tipped. "Just another day in paradise," Miami head coach Mark Richt said. "That's how we roll." Oct. 21: Miami 27, Syracuse 19 Hurricanes running back Travis Homer 's 33-yard touchdown run with 2:48 gave Miami enough cush- ion to win after Syracuse turned over the football at midfield. "We, for some reason, can't find a way to play really good on both sides of the ball at the same time," Richt said. Oct. 28: Miami 24, North Carolina 19 Against a 20-point underdog Tar Heels team ravaged by injuries, Mi- ami had to recover a North Carolina fumble near its 35-yard line with 2:11 remaining to preserve the win. One could argue that Miami is "battle tested" whereas Notre Dame is 1-9 in its last 10 games decided by one possession — with the win com- ing against Miami last year (30-27). Or one could also say the Hur- ricanes could suddenly explode against the Irish the way Notre Dame did in 2002 at Florida State (34-24) to get to 8-0 or at Oklahoma in 2012 (30- 13) to reach 8-0 again and quiet the skeptics, at least temporarily. Or maybe it's Notre Dame's turn to display its dominance against a team that has been living on the edge. RANK & FILE II Prior to the USC game Oct. 21, it was noted that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was 5-11 since 2013 in his 16 most recent games against a team ranked in the Associated Press poll at the time of the game. It appears that pendulum might be turning toward his favor again. Resounding victories against No. 11 USC (49-14) and No. 14 North Car- olina State (35-14) marked the first time since 1989 the Irish defeated top-15 rated foes in consecutive games. Kelly also improved to 23-19 overall in his Football Bowl Subdi- vision career (2004-present) in such contests. Here are the top 10 coaches versus the AP top 25 (minimum 10 games) heading into the weekend of Nov. 7. Rk. Coach (School) Record Pct. 1.Urban Meyer (Ohio State) 36-15 .706 2. Nick Saban (Alabama) 73-38 .658 3. David Shaw (Stanford) 21-11 .656 4. Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) 17-12 .586 5. Dabo Swinney (Clemson) 21-17 .553 6. Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) 23-19 .548 7. Gary Patterson (TCU) 24-20 .545 8. Jim Mora (UCLA) 13-12 .520 9. Mark Richt (Miami) 39-36 .520 10. Chris Petersen (Washington) 14-13 .519 GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI (FLA.) Head coach Mark Richt's Hurricanes were living on the edge in October, winning four one-possession games that came down to the final minutes, and in some cases seconds. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS Predictions Corey Bodden: Notre Dame 35, Miami 17 Notre Dame catches Miami at the perfect time, after an emotional game against Virginia Tech. Quarterback Malik Rosier will challeng- ing the Irish defense, but the Hurricanes were allowing nearly 180 yards per game on the ground. That doesn't bode well against the Irish. Bryan Driskell: Notre Dame 34, Miami 20 Miami has won a lot of games ugly this season, and its defense has had a hard time defending the run. That's a bad combination against Notre Dame's potent ground game. David McKinney: Notre Dame 42, Miami 27 I don't think Miami is nearly as good as ev- eryone says, and it isn't very physical. Notre Dame is the much better team and will be able to impose its will on the Hurricanes in South Beach. Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 28, Miami 24 Since the preseason, this game had me the most concerned — a la at Texas in 2016 — because of the revenge factor on the road. Somewhere along the line, Notre Dame will have to win a close one. At this point, though, it's tough to pick against the Irish.