Notre Dame’s first injury report for Saturday’s showdown with No. 1 Miami paints a bleak picture, with several key pieces either questionable or already ruled out for the top-five matchup in South Bend.
The most notable name on the list is starting defensive tackle Francis Brewu, who is questionable after leaving last Saturday’s 35-15 win over Navy early in the first quarter with a left knee injury. There has been chatter that the issue could be a torn ACL, which would end his season, but nothing has been confirmed.
Another defensive tackle, Jason Onye, is also questionable with a right knee injury. He, too, went down against Navy after playing five snaps. The sixth-year veteran has appeared in just three games this season and has recorded four total tackles, including two solo stops and two assists.
Notre Dame will also be without seven players for the game, and the biggest absence is captain and starting linebacker Drayk Bowen. He exited the Navy game early with a right ankle injury and leads the Irish with 45 total tackles, including 24 solo stops and 21 assists. He also has a tackle for loss, two passes broken up, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble.
Safety Brauntae Johnson is out with a left foot injury and has not played since the 41-13 season-opening win over Wisconsin. With starting cornerback DJ McKinney also unavailable, Notre Dame will need more from its depth in the secondary.
The rest of the players ruled out are defensive tackle Christopher Burgess Jr. with a left tibia injury, defensive tackle Tiki Hola with a right knee injury, left tackle Charles Jagusah with a left humerus injury and left guard Chris Terek.
Because this is a non-conference game, the ACC will not release an official injury report for Miami.
The matchup comes after Notre Dame’s loss to BYU a couple of weeks ago and is being treated as a measuring stick for the Fighting Irish’s College Football Playoff hopes. As an independent, Notre Dame needs only to be ranked inside the top 12 to make the field.
It will also be Miami’s first trip to South Bend since the 2016 season, and just the 14th all-time. The Hurricanes are 1-12 there, but Saturday gives them a chance to change that history.
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