Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame’s 2025 Opener Announced: Visiting Historic Rival

The meeting could very well be between a pair of playoff teams from the 2024 season
Nick Shepkowski|
Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Alize Mack (86) catches a pass for a touchdown over Miami Hurricanes cornerback Malek Young (12) in the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium.
Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Alize Mack (86) catches a pass for a touchdown over Miami Hurricanes cornerback Malek Young (12) in the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting IrishMiami (FL) Hurricanes

Who says an off week in the middle of the season doesn't bring news?

Notre Dame continues to piece together its 2025 football schedule that is nearly complete with a major part of it being added officially Wednesday.

We already knew that Notre Dame would be traveling to Miami to take on the Hurricanes at some point in 2025. We now know the season opener for both squads will be Labor Day weekend in The Magic City.

The exact date of the game is yet to be announced as ESPN/ABC will do that sometime in the off-season, but the Miami Herald is reporting the two old rivals will clash to start 2025 in the Sunshine State.

Notre Dame and Miami Were Supposed to Play in 2024

Notre Dame and Miami were originally scheduled to play in 2024 in South Bend but due to scheduling conflicts (that Miami brought upon themselves) the date of that game was pushed back to 2026 with 2025 remaining the year the Irish would travel south to take on the Hurricanes.

That's why Notre Dame's 2024 game against Army at Yankee Stadium was added to the schedule so late in the ballgame.

Another Week 1 Road Test for Notre Dame

Notre Dame and Texas A&M battle in the 2024 season opener for both squad
Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Christian Gray (29) tackles Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Trey Jones III (9) in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Notre Dame does a better job than anyone in putting itself out there for a marquee showdown in Week 1.

This year it was a trip to Texas A&M that is proving to be more valuable by the week while other Week 1 opponents in the last decade include the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Florida State, and others.

Notre Dame and Miami's Heated Historic Rivalry

The first thing that comes to mind for any college football fan when Notre Dame and Miami are mentioned is the famed "Catholics vs. Convicts" game from 1988. That thriller saw Notre Dame outlast and upset Miami 31-30 enroute to capturing the national championship.

The two have played 27 times all-time with the Irish holding the upperhand historcially, 18-8-1.

Notre Dame has had longer lasting rivalries with the likes of USC and Michigan, but at no point has any Fighting Irish rivalry been more heated than it was between them and Miami from 1988-1990 as the series was stopped because of how fierce it had become.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought

Miami and Notre Dame battle in 2017 at Hard Rock Stadiu
Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback DeeJay Dallas (13) dives into the end zone to score a touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

For being a school full of so many intelligent people, I don't buy for a second that Miami didn't overbook themselves for 2024 on accident.

Miami saw themselves as a team on the rise but not quite ready for the big time and found a way to get out of the Notre Dame game. Now Miami has turned into a team currently threatening the nation's top-five but are they at the level Mario Cristobal wants them to be at yet?

Instead of playing Notre Dame this year, the Hurricanes get them after more time of Mario Cristobal putting his touches on recruiting in a way that wasn't done for some years before him.

Here's to hoping next year's opener ends up being between a couple of pre-season top 10 teams with Notre Dame again walking out with a huge road victory.

Notre Dame 2025 Football Schedule:

Aug. 30/31 - at Miami (FL)
Sept. 13 - vs. Texas A&M
Sept. 20 - vs. Purdue
Sept. 27 - at Arkansas
Oct. 4 - vs. Boise State
Oct. 18 - vs. USC
Nov. 8 - vs. Navy
Opponents with Dates TBD: at Boston College, at Pittsburgh, vs. North Carolina State, vs. Syracuse
One Opponent Still TBD

Published
Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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