SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Miami RedHawks had a 3-0 lead over No. 17 Notre Dame before the Fighting Irish scored 28 straight Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium.
Miami eventually dropped a 28-3 decision, moving the RedHawks to 0-3 on the season.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday’s game in South Bend:
1. RedHawks not lacking effort
Miami head football coach Chuck Martin, again, gave a nod to his program’s effort on the gridiron against Notre Dame.
The RedHawks weren’t short of opportunities Saturday. It was taking advantage of them that disappointed Martin.
“I really love the way we came out,” Martin said. “We had a chance. You play these games, you have to jump on them and take advantage of your opportunities.
“It should be a two-score advantage for us. They’re (Notre Dame) kind of sleepwalking through it a little bit. It’s hard if you’re at Notre Dame and you’re playing Miami of Ohio. Those kids didn’t get recruited by Miami of Ohio.”
2. Running game shows improvement
Miami rushed for a combined 64 yards against Northwestern and Cincinnati.
The RedHawks had 110 yards on the ground against the Irish.
“I thought we ran it good,” Martin said. “They’re a physical group. I thought we ran it better, to be honest, better than I thought we would. Our guys worked hard all week, and we got some things going there. There was enough there. We weren’t behind the chains.”
3. Gabbert continues to battle
Miami quarterback Brett Gabbert gingerly hobbled his way from the Notre Dame Stadium concourse just outside the RedHawks’ locker room to the team bus Saturday.
The sixth-year senior is grinding his way through Miami’s first three games after returning from a season-ending leg injury in 2023.
Gabbert has thrown for 685 yards and two touchdowns with five interceptions.
“Our quarterback has been hit a lot in three weeks,” Martin said. “It’s a physical toll. He won’t feel good tomorrow, but he got hit a bunch today, though. He got hit a bunch against Northwestern. He got hit a bunch against Cincinnati.
“He’s a competitor, and we’re fighting, and we’re scratching and clawing. It’s the mental toll, too.”
4. Costly Miami mistakes
Miami had two turnovers on Saturday, one of which happened when the RedHawks were inside the 10-yard line early in the game.
A Gabbert pass was deflected into the arms of a Notre Dame defender.
“We had our chance early first, second quarter to be up 10-0, 13-0, whatever, and again, just self-inflicting wounds,” Martin said. “It’s very frustrating.”
5. Approaching MAC portion of the season
Miami is entering Mid-American Conference play after next week’s homecoming game against Massachusetts.
The RedHawks were the only college football team to start the season off against three straight Power 5 schools.
“People can see that we’ve got a shot to be a good football team,” Martin said. “But at the end of the day, you’re 0-3. No one looks to see who you’ve played. No one cares who you play. We’re 0-3, and it’s a very frustrated group in there — a very disappointed group in there. And we’ve got a lot of work to do.
“We’ve got a good team coming in next week (UMass) that handled Toledo, but didn’t beat Toledo. The easy thing for us is, ‘Well, we’re not playing a Power 5 team. We’ll be OK because last year we were pretty good against non-Power 5 teams.’ That’s the trap you fall in. We’re mentality and physically … we don’t have a lot left.”
