Notre Dame football and head coach Marcus Freeman will welcome the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes to South Bend on Saturday for a top-4 matchup. The game will likely decide whether this Fighting Irish team makes the College Football Playoff.

At 7-1, Notre Dame still has all of its goals in front of it. After a crushing 28-24 loss to BYU in Provo a couple of weeks ago, the margin for error is extremely small.

Miami is coming in with a talented roster led by quarterback Darian Mensah and All-American wide receiver Malachi Toney. Unfortunately for the Irish, a big part of this week’s conversation is injuries, specifically on the defensive side of the ball.

Freeman met with the media on Monday and gave updates on several of those injuries. I have also had conversations with people around the program. Here is what I have gathered on who is out, who replaces them, and how Notre Dame should adjust against the Hurricanes.

Notre Dame’s defensive tackle room gets thin

Defensive tackles Francis Brewu and Jason Onye are both questionable after suffering knee injuries in last week’s 35-13 win over Navy. Brewu hurt his left knee, and Onye hurt his right. Both were victims of lower cut blocks against the Midshipmen.

At 6-1 and 285 pounds, Brewu is a firecracker in the middle of the defense. He has been Notre Dame’s most consistent interior defensive lineman this season. Onye returned briefly against BYU and has been slowly working back to his full self.

Based on conversations I’ve had, I would be pretty surprised if either player suits up on Saturday. Onye is probably more likely to play than Brewu, but I would be shocked if either took a snap for the Fighting Irish defense.

If I’m right on that, Notre Dame will lean on Tionne Gray, Armel Mukam, Elijah Hughes, and Sean Sevillano Jr. In a vacuum, that’s still a quality defensive tackle room. Gray has been mostly fantastic, doing a lot of the dirty work as a 6-foot-5, 325-pound nose tackle. Mukam had a slow start to the year but has been trending upward over the last few games.

Hughes is one of the more underrated players on this team. He doesn’t play many snaps, but he landed on The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List this past offseason. Sevillano is a stout nose tackle who has handled quality reps throughout the year.

The issue without Brewu and Onye is depth. Notre Dame has been able to throw a six-man group of defensive tackles at opponents, which is a great luxury for defensive coordinator Chris Ash and Freeman.

Against the Hurricanes, the rotation might get smaller. Luckily, the Miami offensive line has not been stellar, so this group should be good enough to avoid a significant drop-off. Still, the margin for error gets a lot tighter.

Linebacker and cornerback adjustments

Starting middle linebacker Drayk Bowen has been ruled out with a right ankle injury. I’m not sure we will see Bowen for the rest of the year, though that is speculation on my part.

This is an easier adjustment for Notre Dame because Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is back after missing the Navy game. When healthy, Viliamu-Asa is one of the top linebackers in the country. Expect a lot of him, along with Jaiden Ausberry and Jaylen Sneed.

The rotation does shrink, though. Madden Faraimo and Teddy Rezac both saw snaps in the win over the Midshipmen. I would expect at least one of them to play a few snaps against Miami. Which one is still a question mark.

At cornerback, DJ McKinney will miss his second straight game after getting hurt against BYU. That’s a shame. McKinney had been playing really good football for most of the 2026 season after transferring from Colorado.

With Leonard Moore back in full action, Jayden Sanders should start at field corner opposite him. With Toney on the horizon, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Moore shadow him quite a bit. That could mean more of Christian Gray on the outside when Moore follows Toney into the slot.

If that’s the plan, the Irish still have a nice three-cornerback rotation. Gray’s experience at field corner could be a huge asset as he moves between nickel and the outside. That adjustment makes a lot of sense with McKinney out.

Safety room needs its leaders to step up

Notre Dame also announced that Brauntae Johnson will miss this game with the left foot injury he suffered early in the season. I was hoping he would be back for Miami, but he is not ready to go.

The Irish have done a good job without Johnson. Luke Talich has given them strong play on the back end. Adon Shuler, a captain and leader of this defense, has had a down couple of games. He needs his best performance of the year against Miami, especially after an underwhelming showing against the Hurricanes last season.

Expect to see more of Joey O’Brien, a true freshman with tremendous upside and tools. The safety room should be more than good enough to make plays against Miami. However, Notre Dame needs Talich to keep being the playmaker he has been as a starter.

We will know Saturday whether this banged-up defense is good enough to keep the Irish playoff hopes alive.