This weekend, Notre Dame football will meet Miami University (Ohio) for the third time in program history. Though the Irish have developed a tendency to play down to opponents in the Mid-American Conference, the RedHawks have never given them trouble. Here’s a look back at Notre Dame’s two victories against the 136-year-old program.
Nov. 13, 1909: Miami 0, Notre Dame 46
The Notre Dame-Miami series began long before Notre Dame Stadium opened its doors in 1930. More than two decades earlier, the Irish and RedHawks played at Cartier Field, now the site of Notre Dame’s practice facilities. Head coach Frank Longman led the Irish to the largest win in series history during Notre Dame’s first season with the Victory March in use. The win followed Notre Dame’s first-ever defeat of Michigan and marked one of six Irish shutouts during their 7-0-1 1909 season.
In 1945, Notre Dame’s “B” team defeated Miami by a 13-0 score in Oxford, but the game does not officially count in the series record books.
Sept. 30, 2017: Miami 17, Notre Dame 52
Notre Dame opposed both “Miami” schools in 2017, and the Ohio matchup went much, much better than the Florida game. In year one of Notre Dame Stadium’s completed Campus Crossroads renovations, the Irish equaled their previous season’s win total on the final day of September, improving to 4-1 with a home loss to national runner-up Georgia.
On just the second play from scrimmage, Notre Dame scored on a staple of the 2017 campaign — long touchdown runs from Josh Adams. The running back, who would finish the afternoon with 159 yards rushing and two scores on only eight carries, took his first handoff of the day and ran it 73 yards to the house.
Miami’s ensuing first drive would briefly cross midfield by way of an Irish penalty. However, a fingertip interception of RedHawk quarterback Gus Ragland by linebacker Greer Martini set Notre Dame right back up in Miami territory. The Irish offense stalled for a moment, but a fourth-and-11 completion from Brandon Wimbush to wide receiver Chase Claypool kept the drive moving. A few plays later, Wimbush ran the ball down to the 1-yard line before pulling a read option and scoring with his legs.
The game’s high-flying start continued into the next Miami drive, as the RedHawks again moved into Irish territory. This time, they held onto the ball and punched it in as Ragland heaved a perfect deep ball to James Gardner for a 34-yard touchdown. Sure enough, Notre Dame would respond rapidly with another home run from number 33. Zig-zagging through the Miami defense with broken tackles left and right, Adams broke out for his second touchdown run, this one from 59 yards out. With Justin Yoon’s extra point, Notre Dame led 21-7 less than nine minutes into the game.
Late in the quarter, consecutive punts would bring the ball back to the RedHawks, who set up another Irish score via a turnover. With Ragland stepping up in the pocket, Jerry Tillery sacked him and punched the ball free, leaving it available for a Jay Hayes recovery. Two plays later, Notre Dame found the end zone again on a 7-yard loft from Wimbush to Claypool. As the second quarter opened, the Irish held a gaudy advantage of 28-7.
A RedHawk three-and-out kept the momentum on Notre Dame’s sideline to start the next Irish possession. Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown completely took over the drive, making three catches for 42 yards and generating a pass-interference penalty to boot. His final grab, a 14-yarder, took him to the end zone on a crossing route. Miami would finally answer on the next drive, as Ragland and Gardner continued to foster their connection with a 14-yard touchdown on a jump ball.
Heading into halftime, Notre Dame put 10 more points on the board to go up 45-14. First, Yoon drilled a 43-yard field goal to pay off a 32-yard run from Tony Jones Jr. on fourth down. Moments later, the Irish took over at their own 19 with two minutes and 19 seconds remaining. A third-down run by Wimbush and a pass-interference call against Miami moved Notre Dame just short of midfield, where Wimbush dialed up a deep ball to wide receiver Miles Boykin for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Wimbush would remain in the game for two more drives to start the second half until Ian Book, the winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history, took over as the backup. With the Irish up 45-17 in the fourth quarter, Book engineered an 87-yard touchdown drive, hitting wide receiver Chris Finke for 48 yards and scampering for a 26-yard gain to offset a holding penalty. Another 26-yard pickup from Deon McIntosh put the ball in the end zone and put Notre Dame north of 50 points.
The game would go final at 52-17, with only 10 total points scored in the second half. Under current head coach Chuck Martin, a former Notre Dame offensive coordinator, the RedHawks would go 5-7. Meanwhile, the Irish would ride their violent ground game all the way to the No. 3 national ranking before November losses at Miami (FL) and Stanford wrecked the season. In the end, Notre Dame finished 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl defeat of LSU and would make the College Football Playoff in two of the following three seasons.
