Mark Richt Talks Notre Dame vs Miami Showdown, Hurricane Fans

Former Miami coach Mark Richt shares thoughts on the Notre Dame showdown, the Hurricane fanbase, and the last meeting between the two.
Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly (L) shakes hands with Miami Hurricanes head coach Mark Richt (R) after the Miami Hurricanes defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium.
Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly (L) shakes hands with Miami Hurricanes head coach Mark Richt (R) after the Miami Hurricanes defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Notre Dame opens the 2025 football season at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where a Hurricanes team that has a chance of being a preseason top 10 team awaits.

The last time these two teams met was a battle of powerhouses that ended in horrific fashion for the Fighting Irish. It was November of 2017, and Brian Kelly's third-ranked Notre Dame squad had a deer in headlights look all night in a 41-8 Miami rout.

Mark Richt was the head coach of Miami at that time and now works as an analyst at ACC Network.

Miami recovers a Notre Dame fumble in the 2017 showdown in Miam
Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Jonathan Garvin (97) recovers the fumble of Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush (7) during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Richt was discussing Miami's 2025 season-opener against Notre Dame after the full ACC schedule was revealed earlier this week, and while looking back at that 2017 game, took a bit of a shot at the loyalty of Miami fans.

"Last time we played them at Miami, 2017. Really, they were top five in the country and we beat them 41-8 - bad. So, I guarantee...even though it was years ago, I'm sure they're going to look at that film and look at that reaction we had as a team against Notre Dame and they're going to be prepared for that game."

Mark Richt on Miami Football Fans

"The (Miami) fans, I'll say this about the fans...they're not going to show up unless it's a show. So, you've got to win and you've got to play a premier team. When Notre Dame shows up that will be a hard sell out and I'll say one-third of it'll probably be Notre Dame fans, but it's going to be packed."

The renovated Hard Rock Stadium makes for an unpleasant road experience as the sound is now more concealed. We've all seen plenty of examples of Miami's largely empty stadiums at kickoff when the Florida A&M's and Duke's of the world are in town.

That certainly leaves an impact with college football fans that see the likes of not just Notre Dame Stadium, but Ohio Stadium (Ohio State), Michigan Stadium, Beaver Stadium (Penn State), and so many others near-capacity even when lesser-hyped MAC teams are the visitors.

Miami Hurricanes Actual Attendance Numbers

Miami Hurricanes football fans cheering in a game against Virgini
Nov 18, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; against the Miami Hurricanes fans cheer during the first half of the game Virginia Cavaliers at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

We've all seen the photos of the empty stands at Hard Rock Stadium for various different Miami home games and those are certainly hard to defend in the moment. However, when you look up Miami's actual attendance stats, the numbers tell a bit different story than the perception.

According to D1Ticker, Miami averaged an attendance of 59,931 fans per home game in 2024. Winning certainly helps that as the Hurricanes started 9-0 before dropping three of their final four games.

It's also worth noting Miami didn't have an overly impressive home schedule as Florida A&M, Ball State, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Duke, and Wake Forest were its guests this past season. With the lack of quality opponents in 2024 I will say I'm honestly impressed by those numbers that did grow significantly from 2023 where the Hurricanes averaged 49,714 per home game.

The Hurricanes also saw their home attendance numbers jump from 42nd highest in 2023 to 27th last year.

Whatever the case, Richt is right that the 64,767 seat Hard Rock Stadium will be rocking on August 31.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.