There is no warm-up. There is no preseason. There is no time to relax.

When No. 10 Miami begins its 2025 campaign against No. 6 Notre Dame — the reigning national runners-up — it’s go time.

The Hurricanes and Fighting Irish will have the spotlight all to themselves when they kick off at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday night in UM’s first season-opening top-10 matchup since 2004. They will be live on ABC as the only major college football game on TV. All eyes will be on Miami Gardens, and the crowd, decked out in orange, will be raucous.

(This is) one of the games you sign up for as a Hurricane,” offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa said.

“I expect Sunday, when the defense is up,” Mauigoa added, “I expect my seat to be shaking.”

The crowd will be especially loud if new quarterback Carson Beck, making his first start at Miami, has a big game. The former Georgia quarterback is fully recovered from his offseason elbow surgery and spent the last month working to build chemistry with the rest of the offense.

“Carson’s been great,” center James Brockermeyer said. “I’m super, super comfortable playing with Carson. I think I can say the same thing for everyone on the offense and everyone on the team. We’ve got tremendous confidence in him, and we’re excited to watch him ball out on Sunday.”

Beck said he is excited for his first game as a Hurricane, but he is used to playing in big games after two seasons as the Bulldogs’ starter.

“I’ve walked in on the road against the No. 1 team in the country,” Beck said. “I’ve gone on the road against top-10 teams multiple times in my career. It’s just another football game. It’s another opportunity to go compete, another opportunity to go have fun and enjoy playing with my brothers, playing with my teammates, and ultimately, getting to finally show you know what we’re capable of.”

But Notre Dame has a defense that could counter Miami’s new-look offense. The Hurricanes will run out a rotation of wide receivers that includes veteran transfers like CJ Daniels and Keelan Marion, along with talented-but-inexperienced underclassmen like Jojo Trader, Josh Moore and Malachi Toney.

Those receivers will be up against talented cornerbacks Leonard Moore and Christian Gray.

“One of the better defensive units I’ve seen,” UM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “Very physical. Their D-line is as good as advertised. Their linebackers trigger. Their corners are very good cover guys. And they’re a very solid defense with very good, smart players, and they play extremely hard. And so we’re going to have to execute against a very talented group.”

The Fighting Irish offense will not be easy to stop either. Notre Dame features one of the nation’s top running backs in Jeremiyah Love. The junior was named a preseason All-American by multiple outlets after rushing for 1,125 yards and 17 scores last season.

“He’s going to make the first guy miss,” Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said.

Hetherman, who will be coaching his first game at UM after arriving from Minnesota in the winter, was tasked with repairing a Hurricanes defense that fell apart down the stretch in 2024 and cost Miami a chance to play for an ACC title and in the College Football Playoff.

But one advantage the Hurricanes’ revamped defense may have will be getting the opportunity to rattle Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr. The redshirt freshman was recently named the Fighting Irish starter after an extended position battle in fall camp. Carr, a former four-star prospect and the grandson of former Michigan title-winning coach Lloyd Carr, has played four career snaps and not thrown a pass in college.

“We’ve got to come out and stop the run and try to make the quarterback uncomfortable,” Hetherman said. “Whether it’s different pre-snap, post-snap, players we identify. For us, we’re going to try to do what we do well. We’re always going to try to make an offense one dimensional.”

Backing up Hetherman’s defense will be a loud home crowd just waiting to explode in cheers as the Hurricanes try to make an opening statement that they are a force to be reckoned with this season.

“We love it,” linebacker Wesley Bissainthe said. “When the crowd’s hyped up, it definitely gives us energy and (makes us) ready to make a play. It affects us a lot, believe it or not.”

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/08/28/hurricanes-notre-dame-advance/