Notre Dame vs Miami Named The No. 3 Best Game Of The Season Per Athlon Sports
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For Notre Dame fans and Miami fans alike, all eyes are looking ahead to November 7, 2026 when the Hurricanes travel up to South Bend to take on the Irish under the lights. After their three-point loss on the road to kickoff last season, Notre Dame is set up perfectly to avenge their week one disappointment on their home turf. Several outlets are calling this a top game to watch in 2026, and Athlon Sport's Kyle Wood agrees.
"Much has been made of last season's meeting between the Hurricanes and the Fighting Irish," Wood explained. "Miami's win propelled it to the College Football Playoff for the first time and kept Notre Dame out, much to the chagrin of some folks in South Bend. After all that talk, quarterback CJ Carr and the Irish have a shot at revenge when the Canes come to town with transfer quarterback Darian Mensah leading the charge."
This is going to be one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, and when you dig a little deeper, it's understandable as to why. The history between Notre Dame and Miami goes significantly deeper than the debacle in 2025; last season just added fuel to the fire for many fans on both sides of the coin.
In 1988, the Hurricanes traveled up to South Bend in a game that would be coined as the 'Catholics vs Convicts' game which ended up being an instant classic. That game ended Miami's 36-game regular season winning streak, ensured Notre Dame would end the 1988 season undefeated and the Irish ended up going on to win the national title.
The following season, Notre Dame traveled down South to Miami to take on the Hurricanes and were sitting at 11-0. They ended up losing to Miami 27-10, but would go on to beat No. 1 ranked Colorado in the Orange Bowl on January 1. The Hurricanes, who downed the then-ranked No. 1 Fighting Irish would go on to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl to be crowned the 1989 National Champions.
Back in the 1980's this was a fierce rivalry, with the victor putting themselves in prime position to win the national title. The 2025 season resembled that rivalry in a lot of ways with Miami's win in Hard Rock Stadium over the Irish ultimately paving their way to their first College Football Playoff bid.
Miami took a 14-7 lead into halftime and scored on their first possession of the third quarter, putting Notre Dame behind the eight ball. After a scoreless third quarter, the Irish were starring down the barrel at a 21-7 deficit heading into the fourth. After some big plays engineered by Carr and the Irish offense, Notre Dame crawled back to tie the game 24-24 with 3:21 left on the clock. Unfortunately, the defense couldn't make enough stops and the offense stalled after a disastrous final series from the offensive line.
This season, it's likely that both teams enter this game undefeated, and there's a chance that this could be a Top 5 matchup in South Bend under the lights. If Notre Dame is able to make it through their road game against BYU unscathed and Miami is able to make it through their road game against Clemson unscathed, these two teams could be 8-0 heading into November 7. In 1988, Notre Dame had to conquer the Hurricanes in South Bend to put themselves in a position to play for a national title. They'll have that same opportunity in 2026.
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