Notre Dame’s defense is walking into its biggest stress test of the season, and the timing could hardly be worse for a group already dealing with injuries and uneven play.
After opening the year with a fast, aggressive look under defensive coordinator Chris Ash - one that helped the Irish shut down Wisconsin, Rice, Michigan State and Purdue - the last four games have looked far more familiar from early 2025. Against North Carolina, Stanford, BYU and Navy, the unit has played softer and more passive, and that’s not a recipe you want when the No. 1 team in the country is headed to South Bend.
Miami arrives with the nation’s top scoring offense, the No. 2 offense in yards per game and yards per play, and the No. 4 passing offense in yards per game. The Hurricanes also lead the country in touchdown passes. That’s the backdrop for a night that will ask plenty of Notre Dame’s secondary, pass rush and linebackers.
The Irish back end is already thin. Cornerback DJ McKinney is out, and star safety Brauntae Johnson has missed all but the first half of the opener. Leonard Moore has been dealing with injuries in recent weeks but is expected back to health, while safeties Adon Shuler and Luke Talich have also battled injuries and are good to go for tomorrow night.
Even with Miami wideout Malachi Toney out, Notre Dame still has a major challenge on its hands. The Irish will lean on depth pieces like Jayden Sanders, Moore, Shuler, Talich, Christian Gray and freshman Joey O’Brien to hold up against a dangerous passing attack.
That secondary can only do so much if the pass rush doesn’t show up. Over the last four games, Notre Dame’s pressure has gone from a weapon to a problem.
Against North Carolina and BYU, the lack of heat allowed Billy Edwards and Bear Bachmeier to combine for 433 yards and four touchdowns. Miami quarterback Darian Mensah is a tougher assignment than either of those passers, and if he gets time, the coverage won’t matter much.
Notre Dame also has to solve a problem that has lingered since the start of 2025: finishing drives. The Irish couldn’t stop Miami on the game-winning field goal march last season, couldn’t stop Texas A&M on the game-winning touchdown drive and couldn’t get off the field on BYU’s go-ahead touchdown drive inside the two-minute warning.
Those moments have been costly, and they’re exactly the kind of snaps that can swing a game like this. When the defense gets the chance to end a series, it has to take it and hand the ball back to CJ Carr.
The chess match on the sideline is just as important. Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson has been one of the best in the country, with elite offenses in two of the last three seasons - 2024 and 2026 - while working with different personnel.
Ash and head coach Marcus Freeman need a plan built on aggressive, downhill football. If Notre Dame falls back into the read-and-react approach it used against BYU and North Carolina, Miami can tear it apart.
Up front, the Irish need Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young to wake up. Young led the team with 15 pressures through the first four games, but he hasn’t recorded one in the last three.
Traore has only three pressures and one sack in that same stretch, with two of those pressures and the sack coming against Stanford. That production won’t cut it against Miami’s tackles, Samson Okunlola and Matthew McCoy.
Okunlola has allowed 15 pressures this season, 11 of them in the last four games. McCoy has given up 11 pressures overall, nine in the last four games. That battle could decide whether Notre Dame’s front can finally tilt the field.
There’s also a major change in the middle of the defense. Two-time captain and senior linebacker Drayk Bowen is out with an ankle injury and likely done for the regular season.
Junior Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa steps into the starting lineup in his place. He’s coming off injury himself and still waiting for his breakout game this season, but this is a huge opening for him.
Viliamu-Asa’s job goes beyond making tackles. At 6-3, 234 pounds, he’ll be expected to produce like a top-tier player and also handle the green dot, which means he’ll be responsible for the coach-to-player communication from the sideline. In other words, he has to keep the defense aligned and in the right spots.
Carr has his chance for a Notre Dame moment on offense. Viliamu-Asa may be getting his on defense.
In Other News...
Tyler Carr Just Got The Kind Of Miami Praise Notre Dame Fans Notice
Mario Cristobal did Notre Dame a small favor this week by putting Tyler Carrs progress in plain view. The Miami coach singled out the quarterbacks development as both a passer and a runner since last seasons opener, and he also pointed to Carrs command of the offense and his accuracy when the play-calling puts the ball in his hands. For a Notre Dame team that has leaned on Carrs growth to steady the attack, praise from an opponent of Miamis caliber carries a little extra weight.
It also sharpens the spotlight on what comes next. This matchup gives Carr a chance to show that the traits Cristobal mentioned are real against a strong opponent, not just flattering offseason talk. Notre Dame fans have seen the quarterback take steps forward, but a game like this is where those gains become harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Jason Sudeikis Brings A Personal Notre Dame Twist To Miami Showdown
Saturdays Notre Dame-Miami matchup is getting the full College GameDay treatment, and ESPN is leaning into a guest picker with a real personal tie to the Irish. Jason Sudeikis will join the show for Week 9, bringing a connection to Notre Dame that goes beyond celebrity status and into family history.
Sudeikis attended Fort Scott Community College and did not play basketball there, but his bond with Notre Dame runs through his grandfather and a long-running affinity for the program. He also was in the building for the 1988 Notre Dame-Miami clash known as Catholics vs. Convicts, which gives this weekends return trip to the rivalry a fitting bit of extra texture. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Carr Faces The Notre Dame Moment That Could Change Everything
CJ Carr has already put his name in the Notre Dame record book, but the one thing still missing is the kind of win that changes how a quarterback is remembered. He has played well in big spots, yet the Irish have come up short in all three of his starts against Top 10 opponents, a stretch shaped in part by defensive breakdowns that left little margin for error. Now comes No. 1 Miami, the sort of stage that can turn a promising run into something much bigger.
For Carr, the matchup also arrives with a familiar wrinkle: Notre Dames offense has been asked to stay cautious this season, and that approach has kept his passing numbers from fully taking off. Still, this is the kind of game where the conversation can shift quickly, especially if the Irish can finally pair his individual production with a result that matches it. A defining victory is sitting right there, and the pressure around it is hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]