This article has been corrected to reflect Miami’s final record and ranking last season.
SOUTH BEND —Six weeks before training camp opens on July 31, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman used the P-word in a recent interview with Joel Klatt, lead football analyst for Fox and host of “Big Noon Conversations.”
That word wasn’t “podcast.” It was “panicking,” as in precisely what Freeman hopes his team will avoid in the Aug. 31 season opener at Miami in prime time.
“I look at that big game and say, ‘OK, what do I need to do to prepare this team for that big one?’ “ Freeman said. “Whoever is our starting quarterback is going to be inexperienced. How do we create as many high-pressure situations in training camp so that they’re not panicking (when) all of a sudden you’re down there in South Florida getting ready to play the University of Miami?”
Multiple online betting sites list Notre Dame as a 2.5-point favorite heading into the showdown with the Hurricanes, who are coming off a 10-3 season and No. 18 final ranking in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
Whether it’s redshirt freshman CJ Carr or third-year backup Kenny Minchey taking the snaps, the Irish will have a first-time starter under center. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have Georgia transfer Carson Beck set to make his Miami debut after offseason elbow surgery.
Beck was injured in the SEC Championship game against Texas, which cost him a chance to face the Irish in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Jan. 2 in New Orleans.
“For me, it kind of plays with my mind,” Freeman told Klatt, “how we prepare this group, depending on what personnel we have and the opponent we’re playing.”
Freeman is 2-1 in season openers as Irish head coach, dropping a 21-10 decision on the road to second-ranked Ohio State in 2022. The wins came against Navy (2023) in Dublin, Ireland, and at Texas A&M (2024).
Notre Dame nipped Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal on Jan 9 in its last appearance at Hard Rock Stadium.
A 2017 engagement with the Hurricanes at that site did not go as well; Notre Dame absorbed a 41-8 thrashing that ended a four-game series winning streak, dating to 1990.
In a recent podcast appearance with ESPN football analyst Greg McElroy, Freeman referenced the importance of a fast start.
“(You) can’t ooze into this season, especially with the schedule,” Freeman said. “We have the University of Miami (Florida) that very first game and we’ve got to be ready to go.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: How Notre Dame football plans to avoid ‘panicking’ in massive season opener at Miami
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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