Miami vs Notre Dame

What I'm looking for Miami to do tonight is establish itself early and show that it belongs in the national picture, and that it belongs with the big boys once again.

                                                      First Quarter

Great opening stand by the defense, now let's see what Carson Beck and the offense do. Not necessarily a bad start; I didn't mind the deep shot attempt. I wish we could've gotten points. I know it's a long game, and both teams are feeling each other out. However, in a top-10 matchup, it's best to get on the board first. We need to capitalize on the turnover. Really needed a touchdown there, and what a disappointing end to the drive after the defence gifted us a fumble recovery. Come on, defense, please get another stop or a turnover. Another big stand by the defense. The offense, please get points on the board. The defense is playing its heart out so far, and Notre Dame is going to score at some point. Nice big run by Mark Fletcher Jr., you can tell the weather is playing a factor in the game. Back-to-back big plays by Malachi Toney—end of the first quarter, Miami 0, Notre Dame 0.

                                                    Second Quarter

Notre Dame is excellent, and they're not giving Miami an inch, which we all expected from them, given their very experienced defense. Malachi Toney is showing why all the coaches had the most trust in him. Miami 7 Notre Dame 0. Defense gets another stop and puts more pressure on Notre Dame. Let's go; the offense needs to go right back down and score again to add more pressure on Notre Dame and CJ Carr. That penalty hurts, by Samson Okunlola, but the offense goes three and out. However, the missed 3 points in the first quarter hurt right now, because I'd feel a lot better being up 10 than 7. Beggars can't be choosers. Defense needs to ball out again. Defense needs to wrap up. I'm not mad because they've been playing well outside of this drive, but it was a great play by Carr to keep it alive. It was also a great effort by Moten to try to get to Carr. There was a coverage breakdown that led to a touchdown for the Fighting Irish. Miami 7 Notre Dame 7. The offense needs to go down and cancel out Notre Dame's touchdown. So far, it's an excellent 4-minute situation by the offense, but I'm very nervous about our kicker situation. What an insane catch by CJ Daniels that led to exactly what I need from the offense: a touchdown. But if CJ Daniels hadn't snagged the ball with one hand, it would've been an interception. Miami 14 Notre Dame 7. Miami gets the ball to start the second half, so they need to go down and score again to make it a lot tougher for CJ Carr and Notre Dame to come back from. Halftime, Miami 14 Notre Dame 7.

First Half Recap

So far, Miami has been playing very solidly, although not perfectly. That botched field goal, I'm hoping, doesn't come back to haunt us in the second half. Beck is looking pretty good; the weather is definitely playing a role in some of his passes, but he's playing where we feel confident enough to win the game. Malachi Toney, for a freshman, is showing out, and if he continues to play like this, he could be a Freshman All-American. CJ Daniels had one heck of a snag that could've been a bad ending to the first half, but that is one way to introduce yourself to the Miami fandom. The defense is playing stout; they need to wrap up and stop the runners from gaining extra yards, because I have a feeling that if it doesn't get fixed now, . But all in all, let's close this game out and go 1-0 on the year.

Third Quarter

The offense needs to come out looking to score. I want a touchdown because we no longer have a Borregales on the roster. Those boys, I felt, absolutely relaxed when they were the kickers. Can't open the half with a delay of game. Beck has really responded after the delay of game. Mark Fletcher had back-to-back nice runs. Fletcher came up huge again on the second and 1. Malachi Toney, man, he is so clutch so far. I'm loving this long, taxing drive the offense is putting on Notre Dame. Marty Brown with a football-fighting touchdown man; it was absolutely needed. Miami 21 Notre Dame 7. Defense is showing out on the first drive of Notre Dame. The offense needs to score again and put this out of reach, not saying the game is over by any means, because Notre Dame can come back. However, with a freshman quarterback who has never thrown a pass until now, it's a different story. You force them not to run the ball, we need to pin our ears back and make Carr's life a nightmare from here on out. What a lucky break for Notre Dame. If Marty Brown hadn't slipped, it would've been another long Canes drive, but it led to a three-and-out for the Canes offense. Bend, don't break defense. Can't give them back the yardage after they commit a penalty—a bit of a lame penalty, but it's understandable why they had to call it. End of 3, Miami 21 Notre Dame 7.

Fours Up

Tough break for the defense, but a great play call by Notre Dame. Miami 21 Notre Dame 14. Offense needs another long physical drive that ends in another touchdown. Need to be clean for the rest of the game. Big sack for Notre Dame, causing Miami to go three and out, and the Fighting Irish have all the momentum right now. Thank you, Reubin Bane, for giving Miami the momentum back and the offense scoring, making it a lot more taxing on Notre Dame. Now, field goal attempts have become stressful again, but it was good, so I can somewhat breathe. Miami 24 Notre Dame 14. Defense needs to show out again, possibly with another turnover or a Trajan Bandy special, getting in a pick-six. So far, Corey Heatherman has been a massive blessing because if we had this type of defense last year, we would have made it to the college football playoffs. However, that's in the past; we're now focused on the present and future. Moten with another huge effort play that caused the intentional grounding call. Good hold by Miami's defense, forcing the Irish to settle for 3. Miami 24 Notre Dame 17. I would love another big-boy style drive right now by the offense, and put the game away right here. The offense went three and out. Defense with a busted coverage, and we've given up a game-tying QB sneak. Miami 24 Notre Dame 24. I absolutely hate when teams play conservatively. You play to win, not play passively. And of course, if we didn't botch the field goal attempt, we would be up by three. Beck, go down and lead us to the win. Huge PI call for the Canes. I miss the Boragales brothers. Carter Davis made a clutch three there, and we need the defense to go back out there and not play conservatively. Miami 27 Notre Dame 24. It would have been huge if we had gotten that interception. Bain and Mesidor are under tremendous pressure, which caused an intentional grounding. Sack for Bain and Messidor. Ball game, big win for the Canes man. Miami 27 Notre Dame 24.

Final Thoughts

What a game, I was absolutely stressed out. First off, I am pleased with the win because it's a top 10 win, which is huge to have on your resume for the College Football Playoffs. Yes, we still need Notre Dame to be in the top 10 or top 15, because it makes the win that much better for the Canes. Offensively, they were solid, but didn't show off our entire hand cause we have South Florida and Florida games coming up in a couple of weeks. Caerson Beck looked excellent. He got us down to win the football game, and you couldn't ask for more. He's Carson Beck, not Cam Ward. Malachi Toney had a legacy game in his debut tonight, catching six passes for 82 yards at a 13.7-yard average and scoring one touchdown. Defensively, it was significantly better than last year's struggling unit, but it still had room for improvement. They played a bit conservatively at the end of the game, and I usually dislike that, which I could blame on Tom Brady. Reuban Bain and Akeem Mesidor came up huge with the back-to-back sacks at the end of the game, which bailed us out big time. Overall, I'll take this win and hope we can learn and grow from this game. Next week, the Canes play Bethune-Cookman, and that will essentially be a scrimmage that contributes to Miami's record. The game will also serve as a form of tuning up and allowing backups to get some significant game-time reps. Go Canes.