Notre Dame’s defensive front took another hit just before kickoff, and the timing could hardly be worse.
Francis Brewu and Jason Onye, both defensive tackles and two of the best at the position, were officially ruled out just over an hour before the game against Miami. The pair had been listed as doubtful for most of the week, but the final injury update confirmed they would not be available.
That leaves Notre Dame thinner inside against a Miami offense that may lean on the ground game. With Malachi Toney out, the Hurricanes could turn to Mark Fletcher and try to control things with the run. If that’s the plan, the Irish are going to feel the loss of Brewu and Onye even more.
Notre Dame is expected to start Armel Mukam and Tionne Gray at defensive tackle in their place. Both have seen meaningful snaps, but Miami’s offensive line has the size and strength to challenge them.
Mukam at least showed something last week, playing 31 snaps against Navy and posting three tackles in one of his better outings of the season. Gray logged 30 snaps in that game but finished with only one assisted tackle, and he’ll need a much stronger performance to handle a starting role against the No. 1 team in the country.
The concern isn’t just about stopping the run. Notre Dame’s last outing against a ranked opponent exposed issues in the pass rush, too.
Against BYU, the Irish struggled to generate pressure, and that matters here as well. If Miami does throw, Notre Dame needs its front to make life uncomfortable for quarterback Darian Mensah as he looks for a new target.
Onye’s absence is especially frustrating given the path his season has taken. After a breakout 2025, he was trying to build on that success in 2026 and position himself for a potential first-day draft pick. Instead, he was injured in the first half of the opener against Wisconsin, worked his way back toward the rotation, and then suffered a knee injury.
And Brewu and Onye are only part of the problem. Leonard Moore is expected to play after being limited over the past few weeks, but starting safety Brauntae Johnson is out, along with starting linebacker Drayk Bowen.
For Notre Dame, the challenge is obvious: survive a long list of defensive injuries and still find a way to slow down Miami. How that group holds up could decide whether the Irish can knock off the No. 1 team in the country and effectively punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff.
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Four of the five panelists backed Notre Dame to handle Miami, but Howard went the other way and sided with the Hurricanes. It is the kind of split that gives a prime-time matchup a little extra edge, especially with GameDay on site and the Irish getting the kind of national attention that comes with being the featured game of the day. [Read more 🡒]