What went wrong in Notre Dame’s season-opening loss to Miami?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Irish fans woke up this morning wishing yesterday had been just a bad dream.

The Fighting Irish walked off a wet and soggy field at Hard Rock Stadium with a 27-24 loss to Miami.

And yes, there are multiple things that went wrong and areas the Irish can fix. All in all, it’s another lesson to be learned… but this first lesson comes in Week 1.

The biggest question heading into this matchup was how redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr would handle his first ever collegiate start. And while he did finish with three touchdowns and led a comeback for the Irish, it just wasn’t enough.

Overall, Carr had an impressive debut. Sure, there were some ups and downs as you’d expect from any quarterback — especially a redshirt freshman — but he handled the pressure of a tough, hostile environment like a pro.

Now, the Irish defense and offensive line are a different story.

We’ve talked a lot about the absence of key guys like Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills on the defensive line, but there’s still plenty of talent there. That said, the lack of a pass rush was evident. It gave Carson Beck too much time, leading to easy completions and some big plays downfield.

As for the offensive line, they didn’t do Carr many favors either. Protection was shaky.

But at the end of the day, it’s Week 1. And head coach Marcus Freeman is confident this team will learn from this.

“These dudes will never quit, right? They believe, they trust, they know they’re never out of the fight,” Freeman said after the loss. “I could look in their eye, and they said, ‘Hey, coach, we need one more stop, we need one more score, and let’s watch what happens.’ We thought it was going to finish differently than it did. (Miami) did a good job on that last drive up, getting into field goal range . . . Good job by them. But you know what, we’ll be in that situation again. We’ll learn from it, and I’ll trust our guys will execute.”

The Irish now have a week off to learn from those lessons as they prepare for another likely top 25 showdown against Texas A&M inside the House that Rockne Built next Saturday, Sept. 13.

What are your expectations for the rest of Notre Dame’s season after the loss to Miami? Let us know in this week’s 16 News Now GAMEDAY Question of the Week!