Notre Dame Football: Are the Miami Hurricanes Avoiding a Trip to South Bend?

Miami sure has made scheduling a pain for Notre Dame recently.

Nov 11, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Alize Mack (86) makes a catch over Miami Hurricanes defensive back Malek Young (12) for a touchdown during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Notre Dame and Miami is one of the greatest and most storied rivalries in college football.

With the Irish having a 'one foot in, one foot out' agreement with the ACC, Miami's conference, the two schools should be playing eachother in football. The Hurricanes have been bad recently, but similar to when Texas or USC are at their best, when 'The U' is up, it is a great thing for college football.

Miami could have (should have) played Notre Dame this season, in what would have been a can't-miss matchup of two top-10 teams with playoff hopes on the line. "Catholics vs. Convicts" would have been renewed in a massive way, yet the Hurricanes backed out.

Why, you ask? The simple answer is "The U" managed to miscount how many games were on its 2024 schedule. It had 13 rather than 12, forcing it to drop a game to get back down to 12. Naturally, if you are Miami, why play Notre Dame in an out of conference matchup if you don't have to?

Miami knew it had a great squad this year, led by quarterback Cam Ward, and that Notre Dame would be in the mix for the College Football Playoff as well. Why play the Irish in what could have been a playoff-eliminator, when you could schedule an FCS opponent and smash them instead?

This all happened months ago, but is coming to light again now as it was announced on Wednesday that Notre Dame and Miami would square off in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for the opening game of the season in 2025.

Notre Dame was willing to travel Miami and play yet another tough opponent on the road in week one, but Miami won't travel up north to play Notre Dame? Interesting to say the least, and a little frustrating.

Per @flasportsbuzz, Notre Dame will open the 2025 season at Miami.

In a 10-season span, the Fighting Irish will have had season openers at Texas, Florida State, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Miami.

Big names for a program that always has an "easy" schedule.https://t.co/0jUKzo7eOf pic.twitter.com/79KHAPlQh4

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) October 30, 2024

The "Notre Dame plays a cupcake schedule" crowd is in shambles.

Moving forward, in a way I hope that the home opener next season is not the next time Notre Dame sees Miami. There is a path for the two to face off in the College Football Playoff and I think that is a GREAT matchup for the Irish, especially if it can get into position to where it can host Miami in Notre Dame Stadium.

Miami wants NOTHING to do with 10 degrees and snow in December. I promise.

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