Miami Hurricanes celebrating more than just a statement win over Notre Dame thanks to a phenom’s return to form that can fuel big-picture hopes
There are plenty of reasons to celebrate Week 1 for Miami Hurricanes fans. One of the biggest may be the presumed return of a freshman phenom for 2025.
The Miami Hurricanes have won this weekend in more ways than one. The most obvious win belongs to head coach Mario Cristobal‘s program after a 27-24 victory over a top-10 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish team at Hard Rock Stadium. The Hurricanes entered the season with plenty of questions, including how quarterback Carson Beck will fare in filling in the shoes of the 2025 NFL Draft’s first-overall selection, Cam Ward. Who would be his best pass catching targets? Could a defense that faltered too often in 2024 bow their backs more often in 2025?
There’s plenty more football to be played before the answers are definitive. But the early returns should have the Hurricanes thinking big. No development for Miami would trump Beck being the 2023 version of himself, but he doesn’t hold the highest ceiling on the team of this year’s draft eligible talent.
That title belongs to one of the primary closers of the Hurricane’s Week 1 victory over Notre Dame, Rueben Bain Jr. Don’t look now, but Bain Jr. is healthy after a trying 2024 season — adjust your draft rankings accordingly.
Miami Hurricanes EDGE rusher Rueben Bain Jr. reminds us what he’s capable of
Bain Jr. did a little bit of everything during Miami’s resilient win over the Irish. He helped a defensive effort that limited Irish star running back Jeremiyah Love to 33 yards on a mysteriously light workload. But he also logged a high-effort interception in the fourth quarter on a tipped ball on the perimeter — showcasing strain and effort and pursuit to the ball in the process. The play was pivotal in helping Miami build a two-score buffer that they would need every bit of to hold on at the end.
And when the chips were really down, it was Bain Jr. and line mate Akheem Mesidor who terrorized Irish quarterback CJ Carr and made a game-tying or winning drive impossible. With the Irish trailing by three and nearing mid-field in the final minute, Bain Jr. showcased a pass rush combo on what ended up being the game’s next to last play, chopping his inside hand before converting to a powerful hump move that pushed the right tackle out of his path and helped him to meet Mesidor at the quarterback.
The final play ended with the same result — Mesidor and Bain Jr. now pairing on the same side of the center. Mesidor used a stutter rip move and cornered with speed, whereas Bain Jr. appeared to see the right tackle’s labored set on the previous play and decided to use raw power. Bain Jr. took the tackle right down the midline and destroyed any chance of a being closed out of the quarterback. Both wrangled Carr to the ground again before Notre Dame self-imploded with a false start with just seconds left on the clock.
The game was over.
But Bain Jr.’s return to form has only just begun. Should he assemble a full season to the form he showed against Notre Dame, Bain Jr. is going to own real estate in the early first-round conversation. But for now, the Hurricanes can happily enjoy him owning a lot of attention from opposing coaches — starting with Bethune-Cookman this Saturday night.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
The Notre Dame loss to the Miami Hurricanes revealed one massive question mark that they will need to desperately find an answer for
Notre Dame football has an offensive identity issue
