The Miami Hurricanes have an advantage that Notre Dame football will need to find an answer to heading into the season opener
Miami has an advantage over Notre Dame they need to find an answer to
In just six days, head coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to kick off their 2025 season against the Miami Hurricanes down in Hard Rock Stadium. This is set to be an intriguing matchup between two ascending programs, but both of which are built very, very differently. There aren’t a ton of roster parallels outside of strong offensive and defensive lines.
On the Miami side, they have several strengths that the Fighting Irish team will need to be prepared for. Arguably the strongest group for Miami, probably along with the offensive line, is the EDGE position for the Hurricanes. On one side, you will see former Freshman All-American Rueben Bain, and on the other Akheem Mesidor. That doesn’t even include youngsters Marquise Lightfoot and Armondo Bryant to strengthen the depth behind them to boot.
Bain, who is a very dense defensive end at 6-3 and 275 pounds, was banged up throughout the majority of the 2024 season. When he has been healthy, Bain has been a dominant member of the Miami front. In 22 games over the last two seasons, he has recorded 67 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, and three forced fumbles.
Mesidor has been a valuable member for the Hurricanes since transferring over from West Virginia. Like Bain, Mesidor is also a stocky build at 6-2 and 272 pounds. During his five collegiate seasons, he has recorded 145 total tackles, 36 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble.
That is a really impressive duo, and they will have a battle with Notre Dame offensive tackles Anthonie Knapp and Aamil Wagner. Each had some really nice moments in 2024, but most of those highs came more in the run game. Pass protection was a much different story, especially for Knapp.
As a true freshman starting left tackle who was pressed into duty due to injury, it wasn’t very surprising to see that Knapp had his fair share of struggles. Him improving in pass protection will be the key for this Irish passing offense to take a big step toward.
For Wagner, he was much more consistent in pass protection compared to Knapp, but it was still far from perfect. One thing that has hurt Wagner during the course of his career in South Bend is his ability to hold good weight. He has started to fill out his frame, and now stands at around 300 pounds, but play strength is still his biggest area of concern.
With that in mind, battling against power rushers like Bain and Mesidor can be tricky. Wagner will have to be prepared, play with a good base, and fight to counteract two players who can collapse a pocket.
Outside of the obvious wanting to win their individual battles, they are also tasked with protecting a brand new starting quarterback in CJ Carr. Unlike Riley Leonard, Carr is not a major threat outside of structure. The redshirt freshman would like to play with clear vision, but players like Bain can cause some major issues if those offensive tackles don’t step up.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
Notre Dame football has a clear advantage that they need to dominate in their season opening matchup against the Miami Hurricanes
Notre Dame has a clear advantage over Miami they need to capitalize on
