This weekend was the most exciting yet this year for the University of Miami football team. The school was preparing for this primetime game all week, with ESPN (College Gameday) deciding to come and visit the campus.
Notre Dame traveled down to Miami to face off in a highly anticipated top 10 showdown.
These two teams had not played in a matchup as eccentric as this one in many years. Notre Dame had won the last five matchups against Miami, so the Hurricanes were looking to flip the script. They definitely accomplished their goal.
2017:
Notre Dame came into this matchup ranked higher than Miami, even though the Fighting Irish had one loss and the Hurricanes were (and remain) undefeated. The Hurricanes have been overlooked by the college football world due to their close wins throughout the season. But, their talent was on national display last week when the Hokies came to Miami, and it was on display this week as well.
The crowd was screaming recklessly at the tops of its lungs from start to finish Saturday night. Former Hurricane Ed Reed got the stadium fired up and the fans never looked back. The Irish evidently had trouble handling the deafening noise of Hard Rock.
Miami got started quickly. Rosier and the offense drove down the field until the quarterback hit Berrios for the touchdown, causing the stadium to erupt. After the nationally ranked defense set the tone with an interception, the Hurricanes offense drove down the field once again. Only this time, Rosier decided to run and evade multiple Irish defenders on his way to the end zone giving Miami a 14-0 lead. After a field goal by Michael Badgley, the ferocious defense forced another turnover to dishearten the Irish. Miami would score another field goal, making the score 20-0. The following Notre Dame drive, they decided to try their luck with their backup quarterback. Things didn’t get any better for the Irish, as his toss was also intercepted. To make it worse for Notre Dame, this turnover was returned all the way for a touchdown. The stadium was chanting and roaring as they realized that the dominant Hurricanes defense had essentially ended the game before halftime. Miami led 27-0 at the half.
Miami continued to dominate after halftime. Wide Receiver Lawrence Gager made a terrific catch on 4th down to keep the drive alive. A couple plays later, Deejay Dallas ran in for a 4 yard touchdown, making the score 34-0. Notre Dame would respond with their only touchdown of the night to make the score 34-8. The Irish got the ball back quickly, but the Hurricanes defense would force another fumble to set up one more touchdown by Dallas.
As the clock ran out, the crowd stood up and yelled for their team. The Hurricanes had just proved on a national stage that the U is back.
TURNOVER CHAIN
Highlights:
Jaquan Johnson rattled Notre Dame’s offense early when he picked off an errant pass from Notre Dame QB Brandon Wimbush.
Malik Young intercepted Wimbush to give Miami’s offense the ball in great field position.
Trajan Brandy took the life out of Notre Dame when he returned his interception 65 yards for a touchdown.
Jonathan Garvin recovered a fumble to set up Miami’s final touchdown of the night.
