Notre Dame vs. Miami Final Score Prediction for College Football Week 1

Iain MacMillan | Aug 31, 2025

Notre Dame is a road favorite against Miami in Week 1 of the college football season. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Notre Dame fell one game short of winning last year's National Championship, but they're re-tooled and re-motivated and ready to make another run at the College Football Playoff.

The Fighting Irish didn't make it easy on themselves for the opening week, hitting the road to take on No. 10 Miami. The Hurricanes are one of three opponents they'll face this season who are ranked in the preseason poll.

Let's take a look at the odds and my final score prediction for this marquee matchup on Sunday.

Notre Dame vs. Miami Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

• Notre Dame -2.5 (-110)
• Miami +2.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Notre Dame -137
• Miami +114

Total

• Over 49.5 (-110)
• Under 49.5 (-110)

Notre Dame vs. Miami Final Score Prediction

The Carson Beck era begins in Miami on Sunday, and while he's a skilled quarterback, he has shown to have a problem turning the ball over, which is going to cost him and the Hurricanes in their opening game against a skilled team like Notre Dame.

I'm all in on CJ Carr in his first year as Notre Dame's starting quarterback. The Redshirt Freshman and former four-star recruit seems to have all the talent in the world. The Fighting Irish also have an elite run game they can lean on to ease Carr into his first start.

I think Notre Dame gets the job done on the road.

When it comes to the total, I'm going to sit back and root for points. The Hurricanes' defense was less than stellar last season, ranking 44th in the country in opponent yards per play, giving up 5.2 yards per snap. That could open the door to this being an offensive shootout.

Final Score Prediction: Notre Dame 31, Miami 24

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