Rivalry renewed: How to watch Notre Dame at Miami in Sunday’s top-10 Week 1 showcase

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A long-standing rivalry with cultural and institutional strife gets a new look: Sunday night, national TV, top-10 rankings. Notre Dame, last season’s runner-up, heads from South Bend to South Beach to begin its 2025 revenge tour. It takes on a glossy but motivated Miami program, which seeks its first bowl win since 2016 this year.

How to watch No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami

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Both teams have new quarterbacks starting in high-leverage spots. Carson Beck is now QB1 for the Hurricanes, after spending five seasons with Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. He won two national titles there … as a backup to Stetson Bennett. Beck took the starting gig in 2023 and quickly emerged as a top pro prospect. He led the SEC in passing yards, put up 24 touchdowns to just six interceptions, and finished with a spirited 13 wins.

Then came 2024. Beck’s return to Athens left something to be desired. He doubled his INTs to 12, most in conference play, and dropped nearly eight percentage points in completion rate. He also suffered an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury during the SEC Championship Game, which Georgia won in overtime with second-stringer Gunner Stockton. Now it’s on to “The U,” where Beck gets a sixth-year senior curtain call in the more forgiving ACC. Miami led all FBS teams in scoring offense last year, though much of that was attributed to No. 1 pick Cam Ward.

Elsewhere, the Hurricanes have two players on Dane Brugler’s 2026 NFL Draft board. All-ACC second-teamer Francis Mauigoa is a beast at right tackle; edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. looks to break out after recording 11 sacks in his first two seasons.

Matching Beck is Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, who got the nod after a competitive summer alongside fellow QB Kenny Minchey. Carr was behind Riley Leonard in 2024, and got to watch as his Fighting Irish teammates advanced all the way to the national championship game. He’s also the grandson of Lloyd Carr, who led Michigan to five Big Ten titles and an undefeated season in 1997.

Carr won’t have to shoulder the full burden right away, though, because Jeremiyah Love is nearby in the Irish backfield. As a sophomore, Love averaged 6.9 yards per carry and found the end zone 19 times (17 rushing, two receiving). His essay in The Players’ Tribune on Thursday detailed his national championship aspirations and offseason tunnel vision.

Other valves for Carr include Malachi Fields, a 6-foot-4 outside receiver who transferred from Virginia, and Jaden Greathouse, who broke out down the stretch of last winter’s playoff push. Heading into the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, Greathouse’s season high for receiving yards was 66 (Nov. 9 versus Florida State). Then, liftoff: seven grabs for 105 yards against Penn State, and a six-catch, 128-yard, two-touchdown line in the championship loss to Ohio State. Notre Dame also boasts a deep pass rush, which new defensive coordinator Chris Ash will deploy against Beck from the jump.

Marcus Freeman has turned Notre Dame into a modern juggernaut and perennial contender, while Mario Cristobal is installing the swagger of past Miami dynasties (he was on the 1989 and 1991 title teams). One of those coaches will score a momentous opening-night win; the other will have to deal with an immediate hit to his program’s postseason hopes.

Nickname showdown: No one wants to fight any aggrieved party, let alone an Irish one. The actual hurricane causes far more destruction, though. Miami takes this one.

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Notre Dame at Miami odds

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(Photo of Mario Cristobal: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)