The No. 6 Notre Dame football team got off to a bad start in its 2025 campaign. On Sunday, Marcus Freeman's Fighting Irish took a major stumble right out of the gate, falling prey to Mario Cristobal's No. 10 Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Notre Dame fell behind early in the contest, as the Fighting Irish struggled to generate offense in the first half while letting the Hurricanes storm to a seven-point lead at the half. Trailing Miami by 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Fighting Irish surged offensively, but their comeback bid fell short, resulting in a 27-24 loss.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck, who transferred to the Hurricanes after a long and memorable stint with the Georgia Bulldogs, shone in his first game with his new team, throwing for 205 passing yards and two touchdowns while avoiding an interception. The Hurricanes' stout offensive line also provided tight protection for Beck, who did not get sacked at any point in the contest.
Notre Dame's inability to have success in the pocket against Beck was among Freeman's talking points after the Fighting Irish's loss.
“Every goal we have is ahead of us,” said Freeman following the loss to the Hurricanes (h/t Andrea Adelson of ESPN). “You're not going to be really successful on defense if you can't get pressure on the quarterback with four-man rushes,” Freeman added.
That was a letdown performance indeed for the Fighting Irish's pass rush, especially when considering the fact that they were among the nation's top defensive sack-producers in 2024. Last season, Notre Dame finished inside the top 15 nationally with 40.0 sacks to its name.
The hope for Freeman is that he'll be able to address that issue in time for the Fighting Irish's next game.
For what it's worth, Notre Dame, which lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game of the 2024 season, enjoys a bye in the second week of the season, which means longer rest and planning before the team gets back on the field to face the Texas A&M Aggies in the Fighting Irish's first home game of the season on Sept. 13 at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
