Shaky Start? Notre Dame Picked to Lose Season Opener at Miami

Notre Dame's toughest test of the season could very well be its season-opening trip to Miami

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Pat Coogan (78), head coach Marcus Freeman, and offensive lineman Rocco Spindler (50) react after losing against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The last time we saw Notre Dame football in a live game, it fell to Ohio State in the 2025 National Championship, after a memorable College Football Playoff run. When we see it again, a national title might not be on the line, but an all-important strong start to the season will be.

Notre Dame, of course, opens up the 2025 season at Miami in a much-anticipated Sunday night affair. The likely pair of preseason top 10 teams will go a long way in setting the stage for the fall of 2025.

Is it make or break for Notre Dame on August 31, though?

College Football News Predicts Notre Dame's 2025 Regular Season

Pete Fiutak of College Football News has released his season projection for Notre Dame, where he breaks down the year game by game.

The good news is that he has the Irish going 11-1 on the year and almost certainly returning to the College Football Playoff.

The bad news is that it comes with a season-opening loss at Miami.

Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Jonathan Garvin (97) recovers a ball fumbled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush (7) in the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Fiutak says of his Notre Dame prediction from a year ago, when he saw the Fighting Irish winning 10 games and making the CFP:

Last year we sort of got Notre Dame right. Of course, we didn't predict the Northern Illinois loss, but we did think it would get to ten wins - it went 11-1 in the regular season - on the way to the College Football Playoff.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought:

What Notre Dame's win at Texas A&M did to start last season was allow wiggle room the rest of the way. Nobody at the time knew that Notre Dame would need it starting just a week later against Northern Illinois, but it certainly did, and then developed into one of the nation's best teams by the time late October came around.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) breaks free and runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Adjusting to college football in the playoff era is taking me more time to adjust to than I'd like to admit. Usually, I'd hear "11-1 and almost certainly a home playoff game" and say sign me up immediately, but the fact that it's the first game of the year and at Miami of all places, it doesn't sit as well.

What also could be a pain is that if Miami were to finish the year with one regular-season loss. It'd then hold the trump card over Notre Dame in terms of seeding for the CFP. So, as nice as 11-1 sounds, that first one especially feels like it needs to be a win.

No pressure, Marcus.