Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Recruiting Could Surge With Win Over Miami

All eyes will be on the Fighting Irish and the Hurricanes on August 31. Top prospects will certainly be watching.
Mason Plummer|
Apr 12, 2025; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman waits to run onto the field during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images
Apr 12, 2025; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman waits to run onto the field during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

In this story:

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

It is no secret that Notre Dame needs to take down Miami for a multitude of reasons. Among those is the recruiting impact and boost that the Fighting Irish would receive for going down to Miami and defeating the Hurricanes in their own backyard.

How a Win Over Miami Could Boost Notre Dame’s Recruiting Momentum

Notre Dame loves to have the country's attention in one way or another, and there is no better national spotlight than having a standalone primetime game on the Sunday night before Labor Day, when the entire country will be watching.

Even the most casual college football fans know about the "Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry and will be tuned into this latest edition. Both schools are ranked in the top 10 to begin the season, with Notre Dame at No. 6 and Miami at No.10, which even further increases the hype around this historic matchup.

While the Hurricanes have been up and down in recent seasons, there is no denying that Miami should have been a playoff team last season, barring some inexcusable losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse down the stretch.

Notre Dame, of course, went to the national title game last season on the back of a young team, who will be looking to capitalize on an opportunity to take down yet another top team in Miami.

Not having to compete with any other games, especially for a game of this magnitude, is music to the ears of the Notre Dame recruiting staff. The best student-athletes in the country want to play football at the best schools in the country, period.

Many of these 17 and 18-year-olds grew up watching Notre Dame under Brian Kelly, struggling to win the big game. Marcus Freeman has flipped the script there and has yet another opportunity to bury that narrative on August 31.

Notre Dame has already reaped the benefits of its tremendous 2024/25 College Football Playoff run, boasting the best recruiting class it has hauled in for over 13 years.

Now is the time to capitalize and keep pushing through. Freeman will be reminding his players daily that they may have made the national title game, but they ultimately failed in their final goal - winning it all.

That sort of drive and hunger is attractive to recruits, especially those who can see themselves being the missing piece Notre Dame needs to win a national championship. The Fighting Irish are as close as they have been in my 25 years and are recruiting at an unprecedented level.

Keep winning big games and keep landing top recruits. Notre Dame is winning a national championship in the next 2-3 seasons.

Published
Mason Plummer
MASON PLUMMER

Covered Notre Dame football recruiting since 2017 for Irish Breakdown, Blue & Gold Illustrated and Notre Dame On SI. Covering Notre Dame professionally got me my start in journalism, which led me to getting my degrees in Journalism and Communications from Ball State University in 2021. Featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, Rivals, On3 and more. Have missed multiple weddings and graduation parties for Notre Dame games.

Home/Football