Both Notre Dame and Miami were coming off notable seasons for different reasons heading into Saturday's clash, and both programs showed why they were ranked high in the preseason AP Top 25.
The Fighting Irish were No. 6 after making their first National Championship appearance since 2012 last year, and the Hurricanes were No. 10 after having their best season since 2021. Quarterback Cam Ward led them to a 10-3 (6-2 ACC) finish, and was subsequently taken No. 1 overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Former Georgia signal-caller Carson Beck picked up where Ward left off for Miami on Saturday, completing 20-of-31 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Notre Dame came back from a 14-point deficit to tie the score at 24-24 with 3:21 left, but the fifth-year senior engineered a field goal drive to take the lead back with 1:04 left. The Hurricanes' defense took care of the rest, and now the program is ranked No. 5.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame fell three spots in the AP Poll and has another ranked matchup after its bye week. The Irish will host Texas A&M in a must-win situation, as starting 0-2 would put their College Football Playoff hopes on life support.
Notre Dame Fans Nervous Ahead of Texas A&M Clash
While some Irish fans on social media are reeling from the Week 1 loss, others are hopeful their team will turn it around in Week 3.
"Back to work. 0-2 incoming," one said.
"We will get right," another said.
"It’s gonna be a long season," another said. "Can’t protect. Can’t stop the run at all! And for some strange reason we didn’t feed [Jeremiyah] Love tell the end. A sad showing for a team that is supposed to be a National Championship team!"
"Defense sure didn't do enough tackling drills during the preseason camp," another said.
"A win was expected,….but Carson Beck WAS UNREAL," another said. "The Irish could have given up in the 3rd quarter…but they held strong. We had the ball with a minute left and a TD wins….. lots of things to work on….but it’s OK."
It's not common for the fanbase of a team coming off a National Championship appearance to be this stressed after Week 1, but that's what happens when programs schedule competitive games right away. As of right now, Notre Dame won't face a ranked opponent for the rest of the regular season after Week 3.