Marcus Freeman makes feelings known on facing Carson Beck-led Miami as Notre Dame prepares for high-profile Week 1 clash

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face the Miami Hurricanes in their first game of the 2025 season. The game will probably be the highlight of Week 1, considering Notre Dame's opponent is a team some considered a snub for the 2024 College Football Playoff.

Iowa State v Miami - Pop-Tarts Bowl - Source: Getty

However, according to Marcus Freeman, his team will not prepare differently than they would against any other school.

“You never want your team to prepare a different way because of the opponent,” Freeman said on Always College Football on Wednesday. “So, I don’t love that analogy of, ‘Hey, you’ve got a big-time opponent, you’re going to prepare a different way.’ But it’s what does your team need.”

He also highlighted that, following Riley Leonard's departure, Notre Dame is set to start a new quarterback in 2025.

Freeman emphasized that this fall camp, he will put pressure on his quarterbacks to make sure they will be able to perform under pressure in Miami for the start of the season. While he hasn't picked a new signal-caller yet, the job seems to be down to a battle between CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey.

Miami will also have a new quarterback at the center of the huddle, following Cam Ward's selection as the first pick of the NFL draft. However, they won't have an inexperienced quarterback. Quite the contrary, they managed to get former Georgia starter Carson Beck to return for a final season of college football.

Notre Dame might use a two-quarterback system in 2025, says Marcus Freeman

Marcus Freeman revealed the Fighting Irish might depart from the norm in the way their offense will work in 2025. When asked about the possibility of using a two-quarterback offense, Freeman said:

“Absolutely. You’re going to look for any way to help your team win. If that means you use two quarterbacks for certain situations, then you’re going to find a way to use two quarterbacks.

“There might be two quarterbacks on the field at the same time. Who knows? Creativity is so important, and we have some creative football coaches and players here that we’ll come up with the right plan.”

Notre Dame will face Miami on Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The Irish are slight favorites for the bookies, who favor them by -1.5.