The joke everyone is going to make in the lede of every story that you are going to read about Saturday’s game between Miami and Notre Dame is that The U is back. This is because the ‘Canes spent three and a half-ish hours flexing all over the Fighting Irish, establishing themselves among the elite in college football.
Miami took Notre Dame to the woodshed, winning by a final score of 41-8. But the thing that made this game so crazy was how the Hurricanes did this. They kept Notre Dame’s vaunted rushing attack bottled up all night and more or less derailed the Heisman campaign for Fighting Irish running back Josh Adams. They made smart plays on offense and marched up and down the field on a very good defense.
But beyond all of that, Miami just looked like what you expect The U to look like. The defense was flying around like you wouldn’t believe, and every time they did anything, they celebrated and flexed with a swagger you expect out of the program when it’s at its best. It was hyper-aggressive to the point that, on a different night, they might have gotten burned a few times.
This did not happen. Instead, Miami forced four turnovers, which meant the best thing in sports — The Turnover Chain — got busted out a few times.
Ed Reed was in attendance, and he was given a Turnover Chain, because Ed Reed deserves a Turnover Chain more than anyone who has ever attended Miami. ESPN even made a graphic for the chain. It was tremendous.
So yes, with the win, Miami is now 9-0. The only other undefeated teams are Alabama, Wisconsin, and UCF. Only the Crimson Tide were ranked ahead of them heading into Saturday, and seeing as how three teams that are currently above the Hurricanes lost this weekend, they are going to jump up. They’ll probably get slotted into a Playoff spot during the next rankings, and if the committee were to put them at No. 2, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who would complain outside of Norman, Oklahoma.
The U is probably back. They made sure Notre Dame knew this on Saturday, and oh my goodness, did they do it with swagger, as shown by Reed right here.
Now, if you know anyone in the Miami athletic department, please send this post to them and let them know its author wants a dang Turnover Chain.