No. 17 Notre Dame is approaching Saturday’s game against visiting Miami (Ohio) with heightened awareness as another MAC opponent comes calling.
It will be the Fighting Irish’s first game on its home field in South Bend, Ind., since Northern Illinois stunned them two weeks ago as a four-touchdown underdog. Notre Dame (2-1) bounced back with a 66-7 road win against Purdue last week.
Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman was asked about the similarities that existed between Northern Illinois and Miami (Ohio) as his players returned home.
“(It’s) a good football team that could come in here and beat us if we don’t prepare the right way,” Freeman said. “So, that’s the similarities I see between those two teams — both of them are good football teams, and we have to respect them in terms of the way we prepare.”
The RedHawks (0-2) still are looking for their first victory of the season. They were competitive in each of their first two games, falling 13-6 to Northwestern on Aug. 31 and 27-16 to Cincinnati last Saturday.
Miami linebacker Matt Salopek said it was important to stay positive.
“We just have to come in here, and I’ve got to remind guys that it’s a brand new week,” Salopek said. “We still have goals that we’re trying to accomplish this season. That’s to go win a MAC championship, and that’s still in play.
“We’ve got to go play Notre Dame (on Saturday). They’re a very good opponent. But you’ve seen it, anybody can lose on any given day in football. That’s just how it is. We’ve just got to come in and fix our mistakes on both sides of the ball.”
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard pursues a second straight quality performance after he led his team to a 42-0 halftime advantage at Purdue. Leonard completed 11 of 16 passes for 112 yards and rushed 11 times for 100 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to backup Steve Angeli in the second half.
Jeremiyah Love also could figure prominently into Notre Dame’s game plan. The sophomore running back, who had 10 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown last week, is averaging 8.0 yards per carry with three touchdowns in three games.
Freeman said Love and fellow running back Jadarian Price were key weapons.
“You still have to be committed to running the ball, and that’s what our identity is,” Freeman said. “… We’ve got a couple guys that can run the ball and take it all the way. We know that, and so we’ve got to continue to play to our strengths.”
Miami quarterback Brett Gabbert completed 23 of 35 passes for 339 yards with two touchdowns and one interception last week against Cincinnati. He is the youngest brother of Blaine Gabbert, who has made 49 starts in the NFL.
The youngest Gabbert’s top target on the RedHawks is Cade McDonald, who caught eight passes for 135 yards and a touchdown last week. McDonald also had eight catches in the season opener against Northwestern, and he is averaging 120 receiving yards per game.
This will be the fourth meeting between the programs. Notre Dame is 2-1 in the series, including a 52-17 victory in the most recent matchup on Sept. 30, 2017.
