Was Miami supposed to be on the original 2020 schedule before COVID blew that whole thing up? It's crazy to me that Miami has ducked ND, playing only twice in the decade of the ACC agreement. Compare that to Clemson, FSU, and UNC, who have played 4 times, 5 times, and 5 times respectively.
They backed out last year, which is why we added Army IIRC. "crowded nonconference schedule" was their reasoning. The irony is that SOS is one of the main reasons they were left out of the CFP at 10-2 lol
Oh I remember them backing out last year. They were never gonna survive a November showdown in South Bend, especially with the direction the two teams were headed in late 2024. I just can't remember the pre-COVID 2020 schedule
They weren’t on the 2020 schedule originally.
It's hard to tell with transfers. I agree with you that simply bringing in 12 warm bodies isn't a good reason to say a team is going to be improved. Now if you can point to certain players (Malichi Fields putting up 1500+ yds, 20+ TDs the past two years with shitty QB play as an example) who have proven production, that's a different story.
I love your point that units don’t win games. Chemistry is so incredibly important. The ND team we saw against Miami Ohio and NIU is not the team that faced UGA and PSU. The ND team from the first few weeks would’ve gotten waxed in those playoff wins. The had the greatest QB in their teams history last year and still couldn’t make it to the ACC Title game. Beck is only lethal with Brock Bowers and a clean pocket. I’m not buying into any of the CJ Daniel’s hype until I see it on field and their defense was absolute dreadful last year. And while their secondary was awful last season the DL was just as bad. GT ran for nearly 300 yards on them with a completely one dimensional game plan. Have fun facing a healthy and fresh Love and Price. My only concern is Carr/Minchey turning into Wimbush but I don’t see that. Run early and often and set up the short and intermediate passing game.
Agreed but I think the media’s perception is that Miami’s pass D was their Achilles Heel last season & they supposedly brought in some proven DBs to shore that up.
If you ask "who would start for ND" they have like a half dozen guys and that's it.
Yeah, Miami wasn't even Top 50 on defense last year and their pass defense was a joke. They upgraded to a more-with-less style guy from Minnesota and brought in a brand new secondary where ever single guy is considered a quality player. Xavier Lucas was the #1 CB in the portal and projects as a mid-round guy right now. Their one returning starter who is penciled in also had a really strong freshman season. So they *could* have two shut down corners, but neither one of them had a coverage grade as high as Christian Gray last year.
First year starting QB's who won it all:
Trending in our direction, it opened at 1.5 IIRC
They may have closed the talent gap, but I'll take a team that has played together over a team cobbled together for the first time. These guys don't know each others tendencies and are new to their system. I don't see them playing flawlessly. It will be a close game IMO, but I think our lads will have control of the game for the most part.
Definitely a lazy write up. We lost one DB from last year (Xavier) which is obviously a massive loss but so much hype around Tae that he leapfrogged Talich, who was the favorite to win the job in the Spring. 3/4 returners from an elite secondary doesn't scream "question mark."
If only we had an elite running attack and plenty of veteran targets for the green QBs to cut their teeth with....
Legitimately could be the best secondary in the entire country
It was at 3.5 at one point.
