Miami versus Notre Dame is one of the most talked-about matchups of Championship Week, even though neither team is actually playing this weekend. But the two schools, each at 10-2, are in the middle of the College Football Playoff’s hottest debate.
According to the latest (and penultimate) CFP rankings, Miami is No. 12 and Notre Dame is 10. The Irish have been ranked ahead of the Hurricanes every week since the initial CFP rankings came out in early November even though Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1.
The teams have four common opponents and both crushed all four by at least three touchdowns: Syracuse, NC State, Stanford and Pittsburgh. Notre Dame, which beat Syracuse by 63 points compared to Miami’s 28-point victory, owns the bigger margin of victory over the four games, while Miami won by more against the other three opponents.
In hopes of getting a better sense of which team is better, The Athletic reached out to five ACC coaches of those four common opponents to get their perspective. As expected, it wasn’t an easy question.
“It’s really splitting hairs,” said one offensive coordinator. “They’re really that evenly matched. These defenses are both so consistent and so dominant. I think they both should be in the Playoff.”
Miami is ranked No. 9 in the nation in yards per play allowed. Notre Dame is ranked No. 14. Notre Dame is No. 13 in pass defense rating while Miami is No. 19.
“Notre Dame’s linebackers were the best we played,” said the OC. “We wanted to attack (Drayk Bowen) but we realized he can cover tailbacks. All of their backers are really good. Jaiden Ausberry and Jaylen Sneed and Bowen all have speed and physicality. Their front is also really good. They play so hard but they don’t have the standout guys like Miami does. Donovan Hinish and Gabriel Rubio are very physical and Boubacar Traore can really rush the passer. He is elite, and (Leonard Moore is as good as any cornerback we’ve gone against.”
Moore, a 6-2, 195-pound sophomore, drew raves from almost all the coaches.
“He’s so long,” said a receivers coach. “He looks like he’s 6-3. They get away with a lot of grabs. That’s just part of their game — they grab. They tug. They know how to get away with it but he reads the ball in the air really well. He’s as good as advertised.”
The receivers coach said ND’s safeties — especially 6-0, 207-pound sophomore Adon Shuler (30 tackles, two INTs, two forced fumbles) — are almost as impressive. “They’re all big and long and athletic,” he said. “They trigger on the run faster than any safeties that we’ve ever played against. They diagnose plays fast. And they’re an extremely well-coached, talented team.”
What this wideout coach sees from the Irish secondary is emblematic of why he thinks Notre Dame is better than Miami.
“Hands down, Notre Dame is better,” the coach said. “They’re one of the most complete teams in the country. Physically, when you look at them, they are so impressive. They’re a bigger, stronger and they’re a faster team than Miami. I know Miami won that game earlier in the year, but I think where Notre Dame is now, their confidence is through the roof. They made us look like a JV team out there. We were able to hang in there for like a half against Miami. We didn’t stand a chance against Notre Dame from the time we got off the bus.
“It’s the length of their corners, the size of their safeties. Their linebackers and defensive ends were so physical. They were much bigger in person than we actually thought. We got there and were like — whoa, this is a good-lookin’ team. You know that about their O-line but to see that from their secondary, really stood out. I didn’t feel that way about Miami. They’re just not as physically impressive.”
A second assistant, this one a running backs coach, also said that Notre Dame is better.
“Notre Dame impressed me more when we played against them,” he said. “When we played those dudes, those guys were ready to go. They were locked and dialed. They were more complete, at least when we played them. I didn’t feel like there was any true weaknesses.
“Miami was better up front defensively but Notre Dame was always in the right spot. I felt like we had to play a near-perfect game to beat them. They’ve always had athletic and physical linebackers. They have really good depth; they don’t get out of gaps in the run game and they don’t miss many tackles.”
A head coach who faced both teams disagreed, saying he thinks Miami is better and should be ranked ahead of the Irish.
“First of all, Miami beat Notre Dame, so I don’t know why Miami wouldn’t be ahead of Notre Dame,” he said. “That’s the dumbest thing that I’ve ever seen. I don’t understand that.”
The head coach added that the Hurricanes have more talent than the Irish. “Miami’s offensive line is gigantic,” he said. “Notre Dame’s O-line is good, but it ain’t Miami’s. And Miami’s defensive line is way better than Notre Dame’s. ND’s D-line is good, but it’s not Miami’s. Their D-line is ridiculous. And that’s why Miami beat them. The trenches are where it all starts.”
“(Rueben) Bain is so good, but the other guy (Akheem) Mesidor is a beast too. I think they’re both first-day (draft) guys. They are problems. If you chip one, you gotta chip ’em both.”
Miami’s defense was its undoing last year. UM hired Corey Hetherman to take over the defense and the unit has gone from No. 10 in the ACC in third-down defense to No. 3, and from No. 14 in allowing plays of 20-plus yards to No. 2.
“Heatherman does a real good job,” the head coach said. “He keeps it simple. In the past, they tried to do too much s— got too fancy. And, you still have to block them.”
In Miami’s game against the Irish, UM was the only team to hold Notre Dame under 136 yards on the ground. ND managed 93 yards on 28 carries. Jeremiyah Love, ND’s Heisman candidate, had his worst game of the season, rushing for only 33 yards on 10 carries.
The wide receivers coach also praised the job Heatherman does. “Corey does a really good job of knowing how you’re gonna try to attack him,” he said. “It’s a simple scheme for the eye but there’s a lot of things that he does from multiple different looks and different pressures that he brings. They just create so many issues up front. You definitely have to gameplan for that D-line. They can really get off the ball.”
“Miami’s ends are really outstanding,” said the OC. “They’re nightmares, such match-up problems. They change the game. They’re just so twitchy and fast, and their inside guys are really talented too. (Andrew Moten, Justin Scott and David Blay) all give you problems and can make plays.”
Miami’s secondary is also much improved from last year. Nickelback Keionte Scott was playing at a very high level until a foot injury suffered in mid-November might’ve knocked him out of the rest of the season. “He’s as good a player as there is in our league,” said the OC, but added that freshman dime DB Bryce Fitzgerald (four interceptions) is a special talent. “He is a real difference-maker.”
The Hurricanes offense is not as explosive as it was in 2024 when Cam Ward was running the show. Georgia transfer Carson Beck has played well, but had a four-interception game in Miami’s loss to Louisville. Over UM’s last four games, Beck is playing the best he has this season. He’s completing over 79 percent of his passes with 11 TDs and one INT.
C.J. Carr, Notre Dame’s redshirt freshman QB, played well on the road against Miami in his debut. On the season, he’s completing 67 percent of his passes with 24 TDs and only six interceptions.
“Notre Dame is better this year than they were last year,” said the ACC head coach. “The difference is the quarterback because he can throw a pass. I didn’t think (Riley Leonard) really could. Carr is probably a better quarterback than Beck, who’s a little weird to me. We thought we could get in his head, but we really didn’t.”
Miami’s consistency, especially Beck’s, came up a few times with rival coaches.
“Miami is hit or miss offensively. When Beck’s on, he’s really good but their run game struggles a bit,” said the WR coach. “That’s where I think Notre Dame has the advantage. I don’t think Miami could run the ball on Notre Dame and they’re just trying to feed (wide receiver Malachi) Toney the ball a lot.”
As for ND’s issues in the opener, the receivers coach thought some of that stemmed from opening-night problems.
“I think they were caught up in an identity crisis,” the coach said. “Brand new quarterback trying to figure out who you are.”
Since then, the Irish have rushed for over 200 yards six times and had five games where they averaged at least eight yards per play. Much of the damage has been done by the most talented running back room in the country, led by Love and Jadarian Price.
“The Love kid is so freaky, holy cow,” said the defensive coordinator.
“They are so deep at running back, and so well-coached,” said the running backs coach. “They’re good in the pass game; good in the pass protection game. They good at everything. Miami’s running backs are talented but they’re not Notre Dame’s running backs.”
One development that has helped the Canes over the last month of the season is the emergence of freshman RB Girard Pringle, rushing for 302 yards in the last four games.
“Pringle has breakaway speed,” said the head coach. (Mark) Fletcher is not gonna scare you. Pringle does.”
Miami’s scariest player is also one of the smallest — true freshman Malachi Toney, a dynamic 5-11, 185-pound receiver who has caught 84 passes for 970 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s also completed four of six passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
“Toney is special,” said the head coach of the former high school QB, who actually skipped his senior season of high school this year. “He is ridiculous. That guy is throwing fades. He’s got an arm. He could probably play quarterback for a bunch of colleges. I can’t believe the balls he throws. He’s a whole different deal because he can jump in the wildcat and throw it. He’s scary because he can do everything. He’s almost unstoppable. He’s electric. He’s the best player we played all year.”
Of the five coaches we spoke to, each was asked who they thought should be the higher-ranked team. The breakdown:
• Notre Dame: The receivers coach and running backs coach
• Miami: The head coach
• Both: The offensive coordinator
• Hedged: The defensive coordinator
The DC said he thought Notre Dame’s physicality was better but Miami was more skilled. Asked who he thought was the better team, he laughed and then went back to the outcome of Week 1: “When it’s all said and done, Notre Dame lost that game. College football’s crazy, man.”
