Notre Dame beat Miami 46-0 back on Nov. 14, 1909, and 52-17 on Sept. 30, 2017.
“It’s an awesome opportunity for us and have a really cool experience to go to any type of venue like that,” RedHawks coach Chuck Martin said. “My personal opinion, we’re going to best venue on the planet.
“I’ve been a die-hard Notre Dame fan since probably the first thing my parents taught me. It wasn’t, ‘You’ve got to go to school and learn.’ It was like, ‘This is Notre Dame football. This is Notre Dame basketball. This is the only team that matters on the planet.’”
Here are five things to know as Miami (0-2) takes on Notre Dame (2-1):
1. Notre Dame connection
Martin coached at Notre Dame for four years, serving as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2012-13) and defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator (2010-11).
“Anytime you get these big-time venues, it’s an awesome opportunity,” Martin said. “You’re going to be on national TV, and you get to show the whole world what type of player you are, and you get to show what kind of team you are. Then you get to go to some place that’s really cool, and the environment there is amazing.
“To me, this one is more special because it’s a better place than everywhere else. But it’s just my personal opinion.”
2. Big-time rebound
Notre Dame bounced back from an upset loss to Northern Illinois by steamrolling Purdue 66-7 last week.
The Fighting Irish had 578 total yards of offense, including 362 on the ground.
“They are insanely, physically gifted. Not even close to our first two opponents,” Martin said of Notre Dame. “It’s not anything about our first two opponents — a Big Ten team and a Big 12 team. They’re really, really gifted. We didn’t play (Mid-American Conference) teams the first two weeks. They’re nothing like those teams. They are insanely talented. They’ve done a great job of recruiting. They play really hard. They know what they’re doing.”
3. Notre Dame’s ‘quarterback is like a tailback’
Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard has thrown for 433 yards and rushed for another 179 yards.
The Duke transfer hasn’t thrown for a TD, but he has four rushing scores.
“Their tailbacks are amazing,” Martin said. “Their quarterback is like a tailback. Purdue couldn’t tackle him. Then you watch the tape from last year, and the guys from the ACC couldn’t tackle him. He’s so athletic, but so strong and breaks some many tackles. And he’s fast.”
4. The offensive focus
Miami’s offense has averaged 323 yards against its first two opponents, but most of them came through the air.
The RedHawks have only rushed for 32 yards a game this season.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily what defenses are doing to us,” Miami tight end Jack Coldiron said. “I just think we need to execute better, focus on ourselves a little bit, some technique stuff. Just cleaning up those little mistakes because one little mistake on a drive can kill a drive. You only get so many a game.”
Miami quarterback Brett Gabbert has made receiver Cade McDonald his favorite target. McDonald has 16 catches for 240 yards and a touchdown.
5. Miami’s defense will be tested
Miami’s defense has been a constant, and it will be tested against Notre Dame.
Senior linebacker Matt Salopek has 19 tackles, while redshirt junior defensive back Eli Blakey has wrapped up 16.
“You’re going to have to play really well every snap to give yourself a chance,” Martin said.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Miami at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m., NBC, 980, 1450
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