Notre Dame at Miami Betting Odds & Picks

NCAAF

It’s not quite the Catholics vs. Convicts matchup from 1988, but there are similarities for the game between the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 10 Miami Hurricanes. Back then the teams were nationally ranked and undefeated. That scenario is the same, but it is the first game of the season so neither side has a win. The Irish are poised to repeat their run to the National Championship game while the Canes look to put a late season collapse in 2024 behind them.

One of three Week 1 contests between preseason top 10 teams, this game gets standalone status with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. ABC will provide television coverage.

Notre Dame at Miami Preview

Both teams were successful last season but must move on from quarterbacks who were responsible for a lot of the wins. Of course success is measured differently for each program and Miami, despite winning 10 games for the first time in seven seasons, feel they let a CFP berth slip away. Notre Dame overcame an early season loss to G5 Northern Illinois and won 13 straight games before falling to Ohio State in the CFP final.

If the Irish didn’t advance that far their season would have been remembered for that shocking home loss where they closed as a 28-point favorite on the college football betting line. Instead they used a punishing defense and efficient offense to reach the title game. CJ Carr was named QB1 replacing Riley Leonard, but Kenny Minchey could get some reps.

Notre Dame was one of the most profitable teams a season ago going 13-3 ATS.
The Irish led the nation with 33 takeaways and ranked fourth in scoring defense last season.
RB Jeremiyah Love rushed for 1,125 yards and 17 TDs in 2024.

Miami started last season with nine straight wins overcoming some defensive issues with the nation’s highest scoring team led by No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward. However, the problems caught up with them with an upset loss to Georgia Tech ending the perfect season and a 42-38 setback to Syracuse in the regular season finale spoiling a trip to the ACC Title game.

The defense was retooled through the portal and former Georgia QB Carson Beck was brought in to lead the offense. Beck threw for more than 7,400 yards and 52 TDs in the last two seasons with the Bulldogs.

Miami was 6-7 ATS last season.
Beck had a record of 24-3 as the starting QB at UGA the last two seasons.
Mark Fletcher is the top returning rusher amassing 607 yards and nine TDs in 2024.

Notre Dame at Miami Predictions

Beck is a winner and I don’t think Miami’s offense will be too far behind what the group accomplished last season. The O line is strong, Fletcher is ready to be a workhorse and the receivers are more than talented. The question for the Canes is how the defense performs after finishing 69th last year in points allowed. Starting a redshirt freshman in his first game isn’t ideal for the Irish making Miami minus the points and the UNDER good bets.

Notre Dame at Miami Betting Tips

Miami is favored by 2.5 points on the early betting line with a moneyline price of -133
Notre Dame was 2-1 SU and ATS last season when getting points.
Notre Dame is +117 on the moneyline.
The total hit the board 50.

Notre Dame at Miami Head to Head and Key Stats

There isn’t much recent history to go since the last of the 27 meetings took place in 2017. Notre Dame has had the better of the series winning 18 games, including the epic 1988 battle 31-30 that eventually helped the Irish win the national championship that season. Can history repeat itself?