Notre Dame football: Three things to know about Miami University
Notre Dame hosts Miami (Ohio) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in South Bend. The RedHawks started 0-2 this season, but they remain dangerous after last season’s Mid-American Conference title.
Here are three things to know about Miami.
1. Miami offense will go as far as O-line can take it
As Notre Dame well knows, a pair of strong bookends at offensive tackle can take an offense far. That’s what Miami (Ohio) has in Will Jados on the left side and Reid Holskey on the right, who both made second-team All-Mid-American Conference last season.
The RedHawks also brought back left guard John Young and right guard Kolby Borders, who played center last season. That’s four returning offensive linemen from a group that rushed for 158.1 yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry, while also finishing in the top half of the MAC in sacks allowed.
In Week 1, though, Jados and Borders allowed 5 pressures each. Jados struggled in Week 2 against Cincinnati as well, with 4 pressures given up. Holskey played well, but strike at the offensive line and Miami’s offense will fall.
That group will need to guide the RedHawks’ offense this season, with quarterback Brett Gabbert returning from injury.
2. Elite defense is more than just Salopek
Linebacker Ty Wise and defensive end Brian Ugwu make a strong core with 2023 MAC Defensive POY Matt Salopek, but cornerback Raion Strader is also back after making the FWAA Freshman All-American team last season.
Safety Eli Blakey compiled 13 defensive stops (tackles that constitute a failure for the offense) from the back end, compared to only 2 missed tackles, and he’s back as well. The rest of the secondary is a bit of a construction project, but head coach Chuck Martin’s track record and the key pieces that returned indicate that the RedHawks will be able to figure it out.
3. RedHawks must rebuild at the skill positions
Then-Miami (Ohio) running back Rashad Amos rushed for 1,075 yards last season, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Then-RedHawks wide receiver Gage Larvadain caught 42 passes for 679 yards and 6 scores.
They were the top ball carrier and pass catcher on the team by a wide margin. Now, they play for Ole Miss and South Carolina, respectively.
Such is life in college football, particularly the Group of Five, although transfer attrition was much easier on the RedHawks than others. All Martin can do is replenish and reload.
At wide receiver, Gabbert heavily favored Cade McDonald against Northwestern. He caught 8 passes for 105 yards, which would account for more than a quarter of his 2023 production (28 receptions for 355 yards). Arizona State transfer Andre Johnson — who appears to be unrelated to that wide receiver named Andre Johnson — was underwhelming against Northwestern, hauling in only 1 pass for 11 yards.
Still, Miami is high on him going forward.
“Johnson is so mature,” Martin said, per The Miami Student. “Whether it’s treatment, weight training or meetings, just whatever he does — there are certain people who are professionals and have good habits, and he is one of them.”
And at running back, the RedHawks went with a timeshare between Jordan Brunson, Keyon Mozee and Dylan Downing (a Purdue transfer). It will take a lot from both groups to replace what they lost.
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