What we learned: miami
A day after Notre Dame's 27 to 24 loss to Miami, the kind of season opener that leaves a program feeling both encouraged and deeply concerned at the same time, both reactions feel justified this morning.
The Positives
The biggest takeaway from Sunday night is that CJ Carr, making his first career start in one of the most hostile road environments in college football, did not look overwhelmed by the moment. He finished 19 of 30 for 221 yards and two touchdowns, and he made winning plays with his legs, including the touchdown run that tied the game at 24 with 3 minutes and 21 seconds left. For a first time starter walking into Hard Rock Stadium against a ranked opponent, that kind of poise matters more than the final scoreboard this morning.
The other genuine positive was the fourth quarter comeback itself. Down 21 to 7 entering the final period, Notre Dame scored 17 unanswered points before Miami's final field goal, a sign that this team, whatever its flaws, was not going to fold when things got difficult. Jordan Faison's touchdown catch and Noah Burnette's 39 yard field goal were exactly the kind of plays a team needs when facing a deficit on the road, and Carr's touchdown run to tie the game showed real composure under pressure.
There was real promise on defense once the second half started, too. The unit that looked passive and a step slow for most of the first two quarters came out of the locker room playing noticeably more physical and faster, closing throwing and running lanes that had been wide open earlier in the game. Leonard Moore was the clearest example of that shift. He was used all over the field rather than in one fixed spot, and his spot duty covering Miami's talented true freshman wide receiver on third down situations was a genuine standout, holding up in man coverage on multiple money down snaps that Miami's staff clearly expected to be more favorable matchups. If Notre Dame can find a way to start games playing with that same speed and physicality, this defense has a real foundation to build on.
The Negatives
The concerns are significant this morning. Notre Dame's defense allowed 339 total yards, including a 205 yard, 2 touchdown performance from Georgia transfer Carson Beck in his Miami debut, and could not get consistent pressure on a quarterback who was seeing a new system for the first time. The Irish also lost the time of possession battle badly, 33 minutes and 57 seconds to 26 minutes and 3 seconds, which meant Carr's offense was constantly playing from behind the sticks in terms of rest and rhythm.
The secondary play was spotty from the opening series and never fully settled. The clearest example came right before halftime, when Adon Shuler took a poor angle on Carson Beck's touchdown pass to C. Daniels, giving up the outside shoulder and allowing a catchable ball to turn into an untouched score that pushed Miami's lead to 14 to 7 heading into the locker room. Shuler was far from alone. Karson Hobbs struggled in coverage out of the nickel for most of the first half, repeatedly getting beaten on underneath routes that Beck and his receivers were able to convert into first downs and extend drives that should have ended sooner. Tackling in the open field was a problem for the entire unit in the first half as well, with multiple missed wraps allowing Miami skill players to turn short completions into chunk gains. To the defense's credit, the tackling did improve in the second half, and it was that improvement, along with the offense's response, that allowed Notre Dame to climb back into the game.
Some of the blame also belongs to the scheme itself. New defensive coordinator Chris Ash called a first half that felt far too conservative given the talent Miami had on the perimeter, sitting back in coverage shells that gave Beck easy reads rather than dialing up pressure to disrupt his first career start in the new offense. It was not until the second half, when Ash began mixing in more aggressive looks and getting the pass rush home more consistently, that the defense looked anything like the unit Notre Dame is expected to field.
Most costly of all were the two turnovers Notre Dame committed, including Carr's interception, in a game that came down to a single field goal. A team playing a true first time starter on the road against a ranked opponent cannot expect to overcome those kinds of mistakes and still come away with a win.
The offensive line's struggles up front were just as concerning, and they surfaced at the worst possible time. Reuben Bain and Akeem Mesidor spent the entire second half working over Notre Dame's tackles, and that pressure came to a head on the final drive, when Carr had a real chance to lead a game winning response and instead found himself under duress on nearly every dropback. Bain in particular beat his man off the edge repeatedly in that final sequence, forcing Carr into rushed throws and abandoning any rhythm the passing game had found earlier in the fourth quarter. A line that cannot hold up for even a handful of snaps when the game is on the line is not going to be good enough against the rest of this schedule.
Who Shined
CJ Carr was clearly the standout, given the circumstances of his first career start. Jordan Faison and Jeremiyah Love also made winning contributions, with Faison's touchdown catch and Love adding value in the passing game as an outlet for Carr under pressure.
Who Disappointed
Notre Dame's secondary is the unit that comes away from Miami with the most questions to answer this morning. Adon Shuler's poor angle on the C. Daniels touchdown right before halftime was the single most costly individual breakdown of the night, and Karson Hobbs' struggles at nickel throughout the first half made it far too easy for Beck to move the chains on third down. The tackling issues that plagued the entire back seven for a half, even though they cleaned up somewhat after the break, allowed Miami to turn ordinary completions into explosive plays. Add in a first half game plan from Chris Ash that looked passive rather than aggressive for a defense with this much talent, and allowing Carson Beck to go 20 of 30 for 205 yards and two touchdowns without recording a single sack is a poor sign one week before the Irish host Texas A&M. It is the first thing Marcus Freeman and his defensive staff will need to address this week.
