The 2025 Miami football team has much potential after last year's events. Mario Cristobal and the Miami offense brought a massive transfer out of the portal to replace Cam Ward under center, Carson Beck. They also replaced a lot on this defense, which was their kryptonite. Those factors should help this fanbase gain hope and excitement in time for their game against Notre Dame at home.
One of the most significant issues that the Miami football program has faced is that the Hurricanes do not have a stadium on campus in Coral Gables. Instead, they play their home games in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. The home atmosphere has not consistently translated well due to those factors, but Mario Cristobal told the media on Tuesday that they expect it to be loud and want it to get there as much as possible.
Cristobal said, “We expect it to be as loud and as wild as it can get… and we encourage that tremendously.”
The Hurricanes are among the most storied programs in college football history, but the home crowd has been an issue since the old Orange Bowl. There are several factors, like how it's much harder for students to make the trip to Hard Rock Stadium. For non-students, Miami is a city full of events, so residents have different options if the Miami football program is not in a big game or struggling with consistency.
Mario Cristobal talked about the crowd for this game against Notre Dame, specifically because it is a significant matchup to kick off the year. Miami is ranked sixth, and Notre Dame is 10th coming into this standalone game on Sunday night. It is also on the last Sunday night before the NFL kicks off.
The Fighting Irish enter with massive expectations after bringing back 11 starters from last season. The biggest name on this roster is Jeremiyah Love at running back, and then they named a new starting quarterback in redshirt freshman CJ Carr.
These two programs have a lot of history. The Miami football program has a one-game win streak over the Fighting Irish, winning their last matchup in 2017. However, the Notre Dame football program holds the all-time lead in the series with an 18-8-1 record.
This game has massive implications for the College Football Playoff race and could be the deciding factor for either team's success or failure.
