2 Best College Football Bets and Player Props for Notre Dame at Miami

Not one. Not two. But three preseason top-10 matchups in the same weekend. Man, we are blessed.

The final of the trio of potential College Football Playoff deciders goes down Sunday at 7:30 P.M. EST. In a matchup that wouldn't disappoint as an Orange Bowl in the same venue, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish visit the Miami (FL) Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida.

Fresh off a runner-up season to the Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame returns a youthful cast and a first-time starting quarterback. Meanwhile, Miami had such good luck with Cameron Ward that they dipped into the transfer portal for another huge name this season.

Which of these quarterbacks will prevail in the latest chapter of the "Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry? Let's dive into the matchup.

All college football betting odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Notre Dame at Miami Betting Picks

Under 50.5 Points (-110)

I just don't trust these offenses to reach a miniature shootout in the 50s right out of the gate.

We'll see Carson Beck at the controls for "The U" on Sunday, and Beck's 80.9 QBR (8th in FBS) didn't exactly come across as impressive as it could have a year ago. He dropped the ball against elite pass defenses -- like Notre Dame in the Marcus Freeman era. Beck completed just 60.0% of his passes against the Georgia Bulldogs' six ranked foes and amassed seven touchdowns to seven picks in those games.

The Irish took runner-up in the playoffs after ranking 31st in YPP allowed (3.8) and allowing just 15.5 points per game. Despite four players from the defensive side drafted in April, many pieces of this young ND group got extensive work due to an injury-plagued 2024.

Notre Dame isn't free of their own questions in terms of scoring, either. Freshman C.J. Carr makes his first start in a golden dome, and I'm not sure he'll have the luxury of a hyper-efficient run game when Miami allowed just 3.9 yards per carry (YPC) last year, which was 39th in FBS. Returning Rueben Bain Jr. up front is a good sign they'll be pretty sporty this season, too.

Georgia played six ranked foes with Beck last year. All but one of those totals came in short of 50 points, which was a barrier he broke against the Alabama Crimson Tide in garbage time.

Jeremiyah Love Over 79.5 Rushing Yards (-114)

Despite just lauding Miami's rush D, there are a lot of paths for Jeremiyah Love to showcase why he's among the favorites in FanDuel's Heisman odds.

As a true freshman, Love was preserved to handle only a 31.3% rush share, which included a decent chunk to quarterback Riley Leonard. I'm not sure that changes dramatically in 2025 expect for the fact that Carr is a pocket passer. Though, it is plausible the team leans further into him and away from Jadarian Price (22.7% rush share) after Love proved to be the more effective back.

Volume over efficiency is certainly my method of thinking in this road start for Carr. ND's rush rate (54.6%) was 47th in FBS last year with a veteran QB that was drafted. Could it encroach 60.0% with the frosh? Notre Dame is also a -134 favorite here, and a lead would only heighten that gameplan.

Playing it safe and forecasting Love for just a 40.0% projected rush share on the season, that's still an expected 14.1 carries in this environment. I've got those totes netting 91.3 total rushing yards even with Price (62.3) still accounting well for himself.

My guy Riley Thomas gave this out in our Week 1 expert picks, too.

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