Notre Dame vs. Miami: Canes Talk Trash, Ignore Recent History

Notre Dame and Miami have been anything but equal since the 2017 game in South Florida

Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish bench reacts in the closing minutes of the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame's last trip to Miami to take on the Hurricanes went as bad as a single game could possibly go.

The Irish entered the November 11, 2017 contest 8-1 overall and ranked third nationally. Despite being road favorites, No. 7 Miami obliterated the Irish 41-8, in what went down as one of the infamous road disasters under Brian Kelly.

Now, with the two teams set to meet in Sunday night's season-opening contest, Miami is reminding Notre Dame what happened in that game.

Miami Football Takes to X to Smack Talk Notre Dame

On Monday, to start game week, the official University of Miami football X account posted about that 2017 contest, trying to get under the skin of the Notre Dame faithful. And I'll certainly say, in my case, it worked.

pic.twitter.com/LX99n3e8Ah

— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) August 24, 2025

The good news for Notre Dame is, well, many things.

The head coach that had a nack for having his team play poorly against ranked foes is gone, the stars of that 2017 contest are pretty much all pushing 30 and long out of college football eligibility, and the players who will decide Sunday night's affair were almost all not even yet in high school when that game was played.

Notre Dame also has one other thing going for it Sunday night, too.

Notre Dame vs. Miami: Recent History Not Even in the Same Ballpark

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Xavier Watts (0) and defensive lineman Howard Cross III (56) and linebacker Jack Kiser (24) and quarterback Riley Leonard (13) hold up the Sugar Bowl trophy after the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Caesars Superdome. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

What the Miami football X account failed to mention about that game was that it was a turning point for both programs, albeit not in the way the final score would suggest.

Since that night, Miami has stumbled all over itself to the tune of a 51-40 overall record and gone 6-12 against ranked opponents. For comparison, Notre Dame beat seven ranked teams during the 2024 season alone.

Perhaps the best way to compare the two programs in a wider lens is that since Miami joined the ACC in 2004, it and Notre Dame have won the same number of ACC championships (0) and played in the same number of ACC championship games (1).

By winning the Orange Bowl last season against Penn State, Notre Dame has more big wins in Hard Rock Stadium than Miami does since that 2017 game, even with the Hurricanes playing all its games there.

Notre Dame Key to Victory: Weather the Early Storm

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

In the 2017 game, Notre Dame was driving down the field to start the contest before Brandon Wimbush missed a wide-open Equanimeous St. Brown for what would have been an easy touchdown. Notre Dame never recovered and was a deer in headlights the rest of the night.

There will be a storm early from Miami on Sunday night, and Hard Rock Stadium will be an absolute hornet's nest. Handle that storm early, just like at Texas A&M last year, and Notre Dame's talent, which is better overall and deeper, will take over.

Usually, the closer the season's opening game gets, the more nervous I get. This time though, the confidence I have for Notre Dame going in only continues to grow.