They say lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice, right?
The No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish sure hope that is the truth as they prepare to host the Miami (OH) RedHawks as big favorites on Saturday in South Bend. It will be Notre Dame’s first game at home since another MAC opponent, Northern Illinois, stunned the 77,622 fans in attendance, as well as plenty of others around the nation, by defeating the Irish as a 28.5-point underdog.
While Notre Dame rebounded nicely on the road last week with a 66-7 rout of in-state foe, Purdue, the Irish won’t be taking anything for granted against an upset-minded opponent.
Let’s examine the announcers for the RedHawks vs. Fighting Irish showdown.
Miami (OH) and Notre Dame Announcers, Broadcast Details, and More
- Start time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Channel: NBC/Peacock
- Radio Stations: Notre Dame Radio Network: Sirius XM Channel 129, WSBT 960 AM/WNSN 101.5 FM (South Bend); Miami (OH) Radio Network: WMOH 1450 AM/WFMG 101.3 FM
- Announcers: Dan Hicks (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), and Zora Stephenson (sideline reporter)
- Betting lines: Notre Dame -28
- Over/Under: 43.5 points
- Moneyline: Miami (OH) +1800, Notre Dame -5000
- Location: Notre Dame Stadium | South Bend, Indiana
Miami (OH) vs. Notre Dame Game Preview
The RedHawks might be winless in 2024 and four-touchdown-underdogs against the Fighting Irish entering this contest, but none of that will matter after the opening kickoff on Saturday.
Miami (OH) lost on the road at Northwestern to begin the season before losing its home opener against Cincinnati last week. The RedHawks were within a touchdown entering the fourth quarter of both games.
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Starting linebacker and the team’s leading tackler, Matt Salopek, has been imploring his team to stay positive despite the winless record.
“I’ve got to remind the guys that it’s a brand new week,” Salopek said. “We still have goals we’re trying to accomplish this season. That’s to go win a MAC championship, and that’s still in play. (Notre Dame) is a very good opponent. But you’ve seen it, anybody can lose on any given day in football. That’s just how it is. We’ve just got to come in and fix our mistakes on both sides of the ball.”
The RedHawks and their head coach, Chuck Martin, who spent four seasons at Notre Dame including two as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2012-13, need to get their running game improved to pull off the upset.
Helped by the fact the offensive line has allowed seven sacks in two games, Miami (OH) is averaging an FBS-worst 1.4 yards per carry this season. That is an area Notre Dame seems to have a big advantage as they rank among the nation’s top 15 teams in yards per rush at 6.4.
Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, weary of how his team will handle a seemingly inferior opponent, was blunt in his assessment of the RedHawks earlier this week.
“They’re a good football team that could come in here and beat us if we don’t prepare the right way,” he told reporters.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard looks to string together consecutive wins for the first time this season after he both passed and rushed for 100 yards while building a 42-0 halftime lead at Purdue before he gave way to backup Steve Angeli in the second half. The Irish ultimately outgained the Boilermakers, 362-38, on the ground in last week’s game.
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