Notre Dame week has arrived, and No. 1 Miami is walking into it with an 8-0 record, a 6-0 mark in the ACC, and a few obvious loose ends to tighten up before heading to South Bend.
The Hurricanes handled North Carolina without giving the game away. They didn’t turn it over, and they were the least penalized team on the field.
In a game where defense was a major problem, those kinds of clean details mattered. Miami also got the kind of late play it needed when Marquise Lightfoot forced a strip-sack in the fourth quarter, helping the Canes hang on.
For Mario Cristobal, that finish fit the bigger lesson he wants his team to carry into this week.
"It was a matter of you just have to keep your guys playing as hard as they can for as long as they can," Cristobal said on the Joe Rose Show Monday Morning. "Eventually, you are going to find a situation where a play is going to come to you just by doing your job.
You are going to get the momentum, and when you have it, you have to take it and finish it. We were able to finish it in the fourth quarter."
That kind of message has been necessary because Miami’s issues have been showing up in the same places: missed tackles, especially on screen passes, and plays that don’t get finished. Those breakdowns have been stacking up week after week.
Cristobal said the fix starts with the basics.
" I see detail and execution and communication, and we didn't tackle well," Cristobal said on the Joe Rose Show. "When there was a lot of space, and they checked the ball down into the boundary or a screen play, there were some missed tackles.
In the world of coaching, you have to find answers. We have the ability to find answers, and we just have to get there."
That search for answers leads straight to tackling, especially with Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr capable of turning a good defensive rep into something much bigger. Cristobal said the Hurricanes can win individual battles, but they still have to finish the job when the quarterback starts moving.
"At the end of the day, you can win your one-on-one, but it's the guy who steps up, slides left, right, right, and takes off with the ball, or by the time he gets the ball down the field, you know, and it's the team of college football, right, quarterback, second, extend plays, Cristobal said. " It rains toreme, man. So if you do win, right, when you get your one on ones and we have one a good number of them, is you've got to finish on the quarterback."
Miami and Notre Dame will meet in South Bend on NBC at 6:30 p.m. ET.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Suddenly Hands Miami A Huge Opening In South Bend
Notre Dames injury report ahead of its matchup with Miami gives the Hurricanes a little more reason to believe they can walk into South Bend and make things uncomfortable. The Irish are dealing with a cluster of absences on both sides of the ball, including defensive tackle Francis Brewu, who is questionable with a left knee injury, and captain linebacker Drayk Bowen, who has already been ruled out with a right ankle injury. Add in the loss of multiple other defensive linemen and a pair of offensive linemen, and the depth chart suddenly looks a lot thinner than it did a few days ago.
For Miami, the timing matters. Any trip to Notre Dame Stadium is a major test, but the Hurricanes now have a clearer path to attacking a front that may not be at full strength and a defense missing one of its most important leaders. The full picture still depends on how Notre Dames questionable players respond closer to kickoff, but the opening is real, and Miami will know it has a chance to press an Irish team that is already shorthanded in some critical spots. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Faces Its Toughest Test Yet With Everything On The Line
The stage could hardly be bigger for Miami, which heads to South Bend on Nov. 7 with the No. 1 ranking and a matchup against No. 4 Notre Dame that carries the feel of a season-defining November night. It is the kind of game that brings the rivalrys history back into focus, while also putting the spotlight on the players who have driven both teams into the national championship conversation.
For the Hurricanes, Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney will be central to whatever they do offensively, and Notre Dame has its own answer in quarterback CJ Carr. With both teams arriving highly ranked and playing with plenty on the line, this one has the ingredients of a playoff-caliber measuring stick, even before a single snap is taken in South Bend. [Read more 🡒]
Elija Lofton Is Giving Miami A New Reason To Feel Dangerous
Elija Lofton has quietly become one of the more interesting pieces in Miamis offense over the last six games, and the junior tight ends expanded role has started to show up in the kind of moments that matter. Against UNC, he caught three passes for 48 yards and helped keep a key drive alive with a 12-yard grab that extended the lead, a sequence that fit the growing sense that Miami has found another reliable option in the passing game.
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson singled out Loftons work on that scoring drive, a sign that the Hurricanes are beginning to trust him in bigger spots. For an offense looking to keep defenses honest, having a tight end who can step into a pivotal role changes the picture a little, and Loftons recent usage suggests Miami may have found another matchup problem to lean on as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]