Nov. 7 has been sitting on the calendar for months in Miami and Notre Dame circles, and now the matchup is almost here: No. 1 Miami (8-0, 5-0 ACC) heads to South Bend to meet No. 4 Notre Dame (7-1) in what has all the makings of a heavyweight night.
The stakes are obvious. The history is messy. And the rematch comes with playoff consequences hanging over it again.
Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season at Hard Rock Stadium, a game that ended up carrying far more weight than anyone knew at the time. The winner grabbed the final spot in the College Football Playoff, and Selection Sunday brought a painful scene in South Bend when Miami’s logo flashed on the screen. Now the Irish get a shot at revenge, this time at home, with late-season playoff implications attached.
Notre Dame still owns the all-time series edge, 17-9, but Miami has taken the last two meetings, both in Miami Gardens. The Hurricanes’ last trip to South Bend came in 2016, when they fell 30-27.
Notre Dame arrives after a 35-13 win over Navy, a game that showed off the Irish ground attack. Sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns, helping Notre Dame pile up 204 rushing yards.
CJ Carr also had a steady night, throwing for 210 yards and two scores, with nine different receivers catching passes. Carr’s first collegiate start came last year against Miami, when he threw for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
This season, Carr has put up 1,849 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and just one interception while completing 66.7 percent of his throws.
“Very accurate, gets himself in the right plays and understands where pressure is coming from,” said Miami head coach Mario Cristobal. “Extends plays, hurts you with his feet; he’s become a complete quarterback and arguably one of the best players in college football.”
Cristobal’s counterpart, Marcus Freeman, had similar praise for one of Miami’s biggest weapons, Malachi Toney.
“He’s elite,” Freeman said. “He’s as good as anyone you’ll see.”
Notre Dame’s only loss came at BYU in Provo, Utah, where the Irish were upset. They also bring one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses into this game, ranking fifth in scoring at 40.4 points per game.
Miami’s defense will have to clean things up fast after a shaky outing against North Carolina. The Hurricanes escaped with a 38-35 win on Halloween, but Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Over Miami’s last three games, opponents have scored 35 points twice.
The pass rush has also been an issue lately. Missouri transfer Damon Wilson II has logged 41 pass-rush snaps over the last two games and came away with just one tackle and no QB pressures. Miami will be looking for a bounce-back performance from him and from defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s unit as a whole.
Cristobal said the answer starts with the details.
“It’s things that we have to coach better, things that we have to execute better,” Cristobal said. “But we have done it before, and always every ounce of effort is poured in a self-assessment, improving and getting better.”
On the other side, this is shaping up as the biggest test yet for Miami quarterback Darian Mensah. The Heisman front runner leads the nation with an 80.7 percent completion rate, and Miami’s offense has been rolling at 47.6 points per game, the best mark in the country. Mensah also has a top target in Toney, another Heisman candidate, who caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns last game and now has 1,027 receiving yards on the season.
If Notre Dame focuses too much on Toney, Cooper Barkate could become the outlet. Barkate and Mensah were connected at Duke last year, but this season he has been overshadowed by Toney.
Notre Dame’s defense is expected to have cornerback Leonard Moore back in the mix after he missed the Navy game. Freeman said Moore should be available Saturday, and the junior was named to the 2026 Associated Press Midseason All-American - First Team.
For the first time this season, Miami will enter as the underdog despite being No. 1 in the country. Cristobal said the Hurricanes are embracing the setting.
“Great college atmosphere, preparation to the max, every bit of it. Understanding that, again, tremendous opportunity, tremendous challenge.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Notre Dame Stadium, with the game airing on NBC/Peacock.
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Miami Gets A Big Opening In Notre Dames Secondary
Notre Dames secondary will look different when the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes arrive, with cornerback DJ McKinney sidelined for an extended stretch after suffering an ankle injury on Oct. 17. McKinney had been a fixture in the Irish back end all season, starting every game and giving them stability on the outside before the injury forced a change.
Sophomore Jayden Sanders is expected to step into the lineup in McKinneys place, which gives Miami a notable opening to test a defense that has leaned on continuity at corner. The timing matters, too, with McKinneys return now pushed toward the College Football Playoffs, leaving Notre Dame to sort out a key spot just as the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Escaped UNC But A Bigger Problem Should Worry Hurricanes Fans
Miamis escape at North Carolina was the kind of win that keeps a season moving, but it also left plenty for Mario Cristobals staff to sort through. The Hurricanes survived 38-35 in Chapel Hill for their first victory over the Tar Heels in six tries, yet the final score did not hide how shaky things looked on defense for long stretches. North Carolina kept finding answers on third down, and the Tar Heels ability to extend drives put Miami under constant pressure.
Cristobal pointed to tackling and finishing plays as problem areas afterward, and those issues are hard to ignore when a defense is trying to handle a mobile quarterback on the road in conference play. Pro Football Focus coverage grade for Miami was historically low, a jarring mark for a unit that has bigger goals than simply escaping with a win. The Hurricanes got the result they needed, but the performance raised a more pressing question about how sustainable that formula will be against better opponents. [Read more 🡒]
Malachi Toney Is Chasing Even More Miami History This Season
Malachi Toney has already carved out a place in Miami history, and he is still only a sophomore with four regular-season games left to play. The Hurricanes receiver has become the kind of weekly problem defenses have to plan around, and his latest milestone underlines just how quickly he has climbed into rare company for one of the programs most storied positions.
Against North Carolina, Toney kept producing even while drawing heavy double teams, finishing with seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. His season total has pushed him into record territory for Miami, and with more games still ahead, the only question now is how much more he can add to a season that already belongs alongside some of the biggest names in Hurricanes history. [Read more 🡒]