Notre Dame’s rematch with Miami arrives with plenty of baggage, and the Irish are walking into it with a point to prove.
Last season’s opener ended in a 27-24 loss to the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium, a result that sent Miami on to a national title run against the Indiana Hoosiers while Notre Dame was left watching the CFP from home. Now the Irish get another shot at the Hurricanes 431 days later, this time in their own stadium, nearly 38 years after the “Catholics vs Convicts” game.
For left guard Anthonie Knapp, the prep starts with the film room. He knows the matchup could look familiar in some spots and different in others, and he’s treating it like a full scouting project.
"I think that’s the biggest thing is to watch the film because again, we did play them so schematics might be the same or might be different," Knapp said about their rematch with Miami. "See what they might bring.
They have some similar players that they were there last year and are playing again. So it’s definitely something we look into and just try to look at all corners of things that we can prepare on.
And so that’s just definitely a game we watch for sure."
Knapp’s name has carried extra attention since that season-opening loss, when he was on the sideline needing popsicles to cool himself down. He took plenty of heat after the three-point defeat, and Saturday night gives him a chance to flip that conversation.
Jordan Faison also has plenty tied to this one. The senior wide receiver and captain is from Florida, and he’ll try to build on the five-catch, 33-yard, one-touchdown outing he posted in last year’s opener. Notre Dame’s passing game needs to find a rhythm early, and Faison says the work has been building toward that.
"It’s all in preparation and our practice," Faison shared about the Fighting Irish passing attack. "Each day we come out here working on it. We’ve worked on it in the past weeks and also getting into the film with each other, seeing the little spots we can get better at, and ultimately that will be the center."
Leonard Moore brings another major piece to the matchup. The junior cornerback is one of the biggest stars in the country, and there’s a chance he lines up across from Malachi Toney if Toney is able to go. Moore says he’s not spending much time dwelling on what happened a year ago, even if the play shows up now and then on social media.
"Not a lot," Moore answered when asked if last year’s game is on his mind this week. "I mean, obviously you see that from time to time.
Obviously, if I’m on Instagram or something, I’ll probably see the play. I’ve seen it a lot of times since it happened, but it don’t affect how I play this game.
But ultimately, just give me more motivation to do our thing out there."
Notre Dame enters Saturday night with a lot on the line for Marcus Freeman and a roster full of players who have something personal attached to this game. If Moore, Faison, Knapp and the rest of the Irish deliver, the No. 1 team in the country could be the next one to fall.
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Milano eventually drilled a $1 million kick on his second try, giving the crowd the kind of live-TV payoff that tends to linger long after the cameras move on. The day also had a charitable twist, with the Notre Dame leprechaun mascot Riley stepping in to nail a $500,000 kick, adding another layer to a scene that fit the pageantry and unpredictability of GameDay perfectly. [Read more 🡒]