Even after a statement win like 27–24 over No. 6 Notre Dame, the film leaves a few circles on the call sheet. Miami checked the big boxes — protected Carson Beck, controlled the line of scrimmage, and closed with back-to-back sacks — but there’s clean-up work if the Hurricanes want Week 1 to become a habit. Let's run through some of the areas that need to be improved moving forward.
Quick note: I did not include the poor snap on the field goal attempt early in the game. Let's chalk that up to a one time thing in rough weather (if it happens against Bethune-Cookman then we have a problem).
1. Play-calling while in the lead
The situational offense needs to be sharper. Miami went 5-for-14 on third down (35.7%) and 1-for-2 on fourth. The Canes followed a Rueben Bain Jr. interception with only eight yards in four plays before settling for a field goal — points are points, but short fields are where great teams slam the door. Miami did not do that.
After going up 21–7, the offense produced a pair of quick three-and-outs that helped invite Notre Dame’s rally. At the end of the day, Miami's offense came up big when it needed to, and the Irish did run out of time on the last drive, but Notre Dame should not have had a chance to tie it up. The conservative nature of play-calling didn't cost Miami in Week 1, but it easily could have.
2. Defending the tight end position
Notre Dame has a claim — just as Miami does — to be "Tight End U". But, Eli Raridon for ND had the best game of all receivers for the Irish, and didn't exactly put together the most sound performance. Raridon had at least two drops in the matchup and still went off for five receptions and 97 yards. Granted, most of the production came off a busted coverage from transfer LB Mohamed Toure, but it could have been more if Raridon played his best game.
Overall, the Miami defense showed up to play, and at a certain point the secondary deserves credit — not just the front four. But the coverage on Raridon (as well as the screens on the opening drive) were the only things that caused any concern all night. The Miami defense still deserves an A for the performance.
3. Let's see more explosive offense
Carson Beck played well enough to win, and true freshman/17-year-old Malachi Toney turned heads, but the big-play faded as the night went on. It was partially because of play-calling, and also because of the Notre Dame defense (they deserve some credit) but it would be nice to see Beck sling it in the upcoming game against Bethune-Cookman.
It will really give us a look at the potential for the WR core and show who else can step up outside of Toney and CJ Daniels. We might be getting into nitpick territory here but Beck only showed signs of last year's turnover-prone play with the last pass before halftime on Sunday. He ended up getting bailed out by Daniels who made a miraculous one-hand grab for a TD. Hopefully that doesn't appear too much in 2025.
None of this is an alarm just yet — and it's a pretty short list of concerns after playing a top-10 opponent. Beck owned the moment and it was an unbelievable night. Miami now moves to a tune up before facing USF and Florida.