SOUTH BEND — Coming into the 2024 season, Miami (Ohio) felt like it could be a trap game for Notre Dame football. The RedHawks went 11-3 last year, winning the Mid-American Conference championship. With several key pieces back from last season as well, Miami felt like a dark horse selection to earn the Group of Five selection into the College Football Playoff.
While the RedHawks are still a dangerous team, an 0-2 start with losses to Northwestern and Cincinnati have dampened some of the excitement surrounding them. And with Notre Dame having already lost to a MAC school at home this season in Northern Illinois, chances are the Fighting Irish are acutely focused on making sure history doesn’t repeat itself Saturday (3:30 p.m., NBC).
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Here are three keys to the Notre Dame vs. Miami (OH) game, plus Tribune staff predictions:
Notre Dame’s defense needs to keep Miami stagnant
It’s been tough sledding for the RedHawks offense the first two games. They scored six points against Northwestern and 16 against Cincinnati, making its 11 points-per-game average the second lowest in the country.
The pass-happy attack has seen quarterback Brett Gabbert go 45-for-72 passing for 566 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Eight different players have combined for 45 rush attempts for the RedHawks, gaining just a total of 64 yards in two games.
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Notre Dame has a top-25 passing defense in the country so far, allowing just 140.7 yards per game through the air so far. While the 124.7 yards per game allowed rushing ranks 63rd, the Irish have only allowed one rushing touchdown all season
Irish rushing attack needs to stay potent
While Miami has struggled to run the ball, Notre Dame embraced that element of the offense in last week’s 66-7 beatdown of Purdue.
The Irish ran for 362 yards and six touchdowns against the Boilermakers, with quarterback Riley accounting for 100 of those yards and three scores. Jadarian Price ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the second quarter to make it a 42-0 halftime lead, while Jeremiyah Love topped all rushers with 109 yards and a touchdown.
Notre Dame lost two offensive linemen in last week’s game in center Ashton Craig and right guard Billy Schrauth, but it didn’t seem to slow them down. Craig is out for the season with a left knee injury, while Schrauth is expected to miss a few weeks with a right ankle injury. Pat Coogan slides into the starting center role, while Sam Pendleton steps into the left guard spot for Coogan. Rocco Spindler takes over at right guard for the injured Schrauth.
Avoiding the letdown — again
Notre Dame has picked up two impressive road wins this season for different reasons. After the last one, they came home and lost as a four-touchdown favorite to Northern Illinois. The hype around the Irish after the Purdue win is substantially tamer than the Texas A&M victory, in large part to that NIU loss. In theory, that should help the Irish stay focused on the task at hand instead of dreaming about a College Football Playoff run.
South Bend Tribune staff predictions for game 4 vs. Miami Ohio
MIKE BERARDINO: Notre Dame 41, Miami (OH) 6. Same score prediction from two weeks against another MAC team.
TOM NOIE: Notre Dame 34, Miami (OH) 10: We’ve seen three different versions of Notre Dame the first three weeks of the regular season. Might as well make it four-for-four.
AUSTIN HOUGH: Notre Dame 28, Miami (OH) 0. The Irish were close to a shutout against Purdue (they led 49-0 before the Boilers finally scored). With the RedHawks offense struggling, this feels like it could be another Notre Dame defensive masterclass.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Three keys, predictions for Notre Dame football against Miami (Ohio)
