Notre Dame’s fan base didn’t wait for the calendar to bring Miami back to South Bend. During Saturday’s game against Rice at Notre Dame Stadium, chants of “F*** Miami” broke out from the stands, a loud reminder that the Fighting Irish are already looking ahead to the Hurricanes.
That matchup is still eight weeks away, but the temperature between these programs has clearly been rising. Miami and Notre Dame have been tangled in the “Catholics Vs.
Convicts” rivalry since the 1950s, and last season the Hurricanes handled the Irish 27-24 in Miami. This time, the setting shifts to South Bend, where history has not been kind to the Hurricanes.
Miami is 1-12 at Notre Dame, with its lone road win coming on Oct. 6, 1984.
The Irish are also bringing a different look into this year’s showdown. They lost both of their top running backs, Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love and backup Jadarian Price, to the NFL, which has pushed junior Aneyas Williams and sophomore Nolan James Jr. into bigger roles.
That change has put more on quarterback CJ Carr’s plate, and he has answered early in the 2026 college football season with back-to-back games of more than 230 passing yards and multiple touchdowns. The Irish are leaning on his arm more than expected, and Carr has started to produce through the air.
The quarterback spotlight will be even brighter because Mensah, Toney, and Carr are set to headline the 29th all-time meeting between the schools. For Miami, the trip is shaping up as a serious test.
Mensah has not yet faced a ranked opponent, and this will be the 21-year-old’s biggest challenge as a college player. It also lands under the kind of pressure that can swallow an offense if the communication gets sloppy, since Notre Dame’s crowd will try to drown out Shannon Dawson’s play-calling.
The Hurricanes did take care of business this week, rolling past Florida A&M 77-7 on Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium. Notre Dame played Saturday against Rice, but its fans still found a way to send a message with Miami nowhere near the field.
With both fan bases sure to spend plenty of time trading barbs on social media before kickoff, the game itself will decide the real talking points. The showdown is set for 7:30 p.m.
E.T. on NBC and Peacock. Miami can’t afford a loss to knock it off track in the chase for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, but with neither team carrying a brutal schedule, this one is still being viewed as a measuring stick for National Championship contenders.
In Other News...
Miami's Next ACC Test Comes With A Wake Forest Threat
Miamis first real ACC road test of the season lands in Winston-Salem on Saturday night, where the Hurricanes will face a Wake Forest team that has made an early habit of turning games into track meets. Miami enters at 2-0 after handling Florida A&M, while Wake Forest is also unbeaten after outlasting Purdue in double overtime, setting up a matchup that should tell a lot more about both teams than the first two weeks have.
The Demon Deacons have already shown they can stress a defense in more than one way, and that makes this one worth watching for Miami beyond the usual conference backdrop. Wake Forest has a quarterback who can move the ball through the air and on the ground, plus a receiver who has been piling up production early, so the Hurricanes will have to be sharp from the start with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis Surging Defense Is Suddenly Facing A Secondary Problem
Miamis defense has been one of the early bright spots of the season, with the Hurricanes stringing together a touchdown-free stretch that has helped steady the team while the offense finds its rhythm. But Mario Cristobal revealed this week that junior cornerback Xavier Lucas will be sidelined for about a month, another hit to a secondary that has already been dealing with injuries and has had to stay afloat through a mix of versatile transfers and true freshmen.
The timing makes the setback harder to ignore, with Wake Forest up next and the Hurricanes still trying to protect the integrity of a back end that has held up well enough to keep the streak alive. Miami is expected to update its injury report before that game, and for a defense that has built momentum by avoiding breakdowns, the next few weeks will be as much about depth and adaptation as they are about maintaining the standard. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Just Gave Texas Fans A Bigger Reason To Dream
Arch Mannings rise in the Heisman conversation picked up another notch after Texas comeback win over Ohio State in Week 2, when his odds improved to third at +850. The early Heisman board is already starting to take shape, and for Miami fans watching from a distance, the name at the top is a familiar one: quarterback Darian Mensah, whose scorching start has kept him in front of the pack.
Mensah remains the favorite at +550 after completing more than 90 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and no interceptions, a rsum that has forced the rest of the country to chase. Wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Malachi Toney are also sitting near the top of the odds list, while Sam Leavitt saw his stock dip after a rough Week 2, a reminder that the Heisman race can shift quickly before the season really settles in. [Read more 🡒]