Coming off a thrilling season run to the national championship game last season, Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish are reloading, not rebuilding, and the buzz in South Bend is electric. With Riley Leonard and Steve Angeli gone, everyone is watching CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey vie for the quarterback position. Freeman has promised to test the deserving victor in fall camp. Adding to the offense arsenal, Wide receiver Will Pauling, a transfer who showed big-play potential at Wisconsin, is garnering praise from Freeman. Despite Pauling’s 2024 failure, Irish supporters look forward to an unlikely airborne attack after his great 2023 debut.

Freeman’s work has Notre Dame with a top-2 class for 2026, and the “Irish Invasion” summer camp is attracting blue-chip talents from all over the nation. Freeman’s sales pitch? The Notre Dame name is solid, but he’s marketing the program’s value and the opportunity to be part of something special. Notre Dame will go to the Hard Rock Stadium to face the former Georgia star with 7,912 career passing yards. It’s a heavyweight fight, and Freeman’s young Irish will need to mature quickly.

David Cone attempts to wrap his head around the Hurricanes vs Irish result in the Crain & Company show. He queries, “What do you expect from him in Miami as the Irish go on the road to play Miami down there?” Notre Dame Bryan Driskell says, “It reminds you that Notre Dame also lost their all-American D tackle in the game before against Indiana.” Let’s flashback to the very first 12-team College Football Playoff game against the Hoosiers. Notre Dame, the No. 7 seed, lost defensive tackle Rylie Mills in the second half of the game. His absence was major, especially considering his role in stabilizing the Irish run defense all year. Even with that gut blow, Marcus Freeman’s unit did not blink, they finished 27-17 against the Hoosiers.

Returning to the Hurricane scenario, Driskell further adds, “If let’s say Miami goes out there and Carson Beck tears Notre Dame up, win or lose, but he plays great. Then you’re going to get the whole, Georgia, say, see we told you if Carson Beck would have played, we’d have beat y’all that kind of thing.” Marcus Freeman has made it very evident that Notre Dame will not underestimate Beck or Miami. He has reiterated that he will push his quarterbacks to the limit during fall camp to get them ready for the pressure and composure that Beck executes on the field. “So, I think if you’re Notre Dame, you’ve got to kind of not only win the game, but to just kind of silence some of the people looking for a reason to be critical of you. You’ve got to also shut Carson Beck down,” Driskell reflected on how the stakes and expectations are equally high. Freeman has also teased flexibility on strategy, proposing that Notre Dame deploy a two-quarterback attack to keep Miami’s defense—and Beck—guessing.

On top of that, it will be an absolute new QB playing the field after Leonard’s departure. So, while Freeman demurs about not overhauling preparation just for a big-name opponent, he is making sure Notre Dame’s new quarterback(s) are battle-tested for a Miami team now headed by one of college football’s most prolific passers. The season-opening matchup will be a big test for both programs and potentially set the tone for the 2025 season.

The ultimate test for Notre Dame’s new look

The Notre Dame defense a year ago was phenomenal, particularly the secondary. They ranked third in the country in defensive scoring and possessed a backfield that could challenge even top quarterbacks. But here’s the major blow—two All-Americans, Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts, are now gone. Morrison, the heart at the corner, departed early for the NFL due to a nasty hip injury. Watts, the safety who delivered that memorable 100-yard pick-six vs. USC, is now taking the field for Atlanta.

Greg McElroy on his program says, “You lose two All-Americans off last year’s team in Benjamin Morrison, Xavier Watts.” He goes on, “I am concerned about the vacant hole that is Xavier Watts. That’s significant,” Freeman isn’t sitting idle waiting for a miracle. He’s got Leonard Moore, last year’s freshman defensive player of the year, waiting to fill the corner spot. Christian Gray, who already broke records for interceptions, will cover the other.

But the largest roster deficit may not be on defense—it’s at quarterback. If the offense falters, even a sound defense can only hold for so long. So, as the Irish prepare for a season-opening blockbuster against Miami, the question is straightforward: Can Freeman’s next generation of stars replace those NFL-bound legends?