After a run to the national championship game, the Notre Dame football team is hoping to build on what was a stellar 2024 season. The Fighting Irish are expected to be a contender once again, and we aren't going to have to wait long to find out how good this team is. Notre Dame won't have any tune up games in 2025 as the season will begin on the road against Miami, another team that is hoping to make a College Football Playoff run.

There is definitely a different feel in the offseason when the first game of the year is against another big team. There is always excitement and eagerness, but those feelings aren't quite as strong when an FCS school lands in Week 1. This is a huge game, but the Notre Dame football team isn't preparing any differently than normal.

“You never want your team to prepare a different way because of the opponent,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said during an appearance on Always College Football. “So, I don’t love that analogy of, ‘Hey, you’ve got a big-time opponent, you’re going to prepare a different way.’ But it’s what does your team need?”

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One big aspect of this game to pay attention to is that Notre Dame will have a first-year starter at quarterback. CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey are competing for the starting job, and no matter who wins it, their first start will be on the road against Miami. Any first start for a young QB is stressful, but that will be a different beast.

“We’re going to have whoever our starting quarterback is, it’s going to be their first time starting,” Freeman said. “So, as I look at this training camp. It’s how many high-pressure situations can we put these quarterbacks in to make sure they can execute before we get out there down in South Florida. I think, for me, it’s looking at what does your team need? Not the opponent, as much as what your current team needs to make sure they’re prepared and have some of those questions answered before the real bullets get flying.”

While the Notre Dame football team is going to stick with the same general approach to this game, there are going to have to be some things that are different because of this QB situation. The fact that there will be a QB battle leading up to the game is different in itself. The Fighting Irish want to figure out who that guy will be, but they also don't want to rush the process. It's a tricky situation, and that is going to be a tricky Week 1 game for Notre Dame.