Notre Dame football has three key players that need to be the best versions of themselves in the season opener against Miami
After what felt like an extremely long College Football offseason, we are now less than a week until the Notre Dame season officially kicks off. Kickoff is scheduled for this Sunday, August 31st at 7:30 PM Eastern time against the Miami Hurricanes down in Hard Rock Stadium. For head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting […]
After what felt like an extremely long College Football offseason, we are now less than a week until the Notre Dame season officially kicks off. Kickoff is scheduled for this Sunday, August 31st at 7:30 PM Eastern time against the Miami Hurricanes down in Hard Rock Stadium. For head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish, they head into 2025 with hopes for another playoff berth and championship run. The vibes around the program are at an all time high, at least in a very long time.
Heading into this contest, Notre Dame does have several areas where they have perceived strengths compared to the Hurricanes. While it looks good on paper, games aren’t won on paper. They are won by really good football players. There are several Fighting Irish standouts who will need to have big games on Sunday night. They could ultimately determine whether Notre Dame wins or loses the football game.
Here are the players that I believe need to step up most for the Fighting Irish this weekend.
WR Jaden Greathouse
After a mostly quiet 2024 season for Greathouse, he exploded during the final two weeks against Penn State and Ohio State. In those two contests, the rising junior managed to haul in 13 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Greathouse makes his living out of the slot, which could be a problem area for the Hurricanes. He has the ability to be a bit of a safety blanket for quarterback CJ Carr if he picks up where he left off last season.
OT Anthonie Knapp
Knapp is going to be matched up against a couple of very talented defensive ends in Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. The rising sophomore had some struggles last year in pass protection, which isn’t overly surprising for a young left tackle who was pressed into duty due to injury. If Knapp is able to hold his own against those two, it would be massive for Carr. That will be a big test.
EDGE Boubacar Traore
Before Traore got hurt last year during the Louisville game, he looked like he was going to be the next breakout pass rushing star in College Football. Despite only playing in four games, Traore still finished tied for the team lead in sacks of any EDGE defenders on the team. He is the playmaker that the Irish need coming off the edge. Getting after Miami quarterback Carson Beck would be massive.
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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
