Paul Finebaum predicts winner of Notre Dame, Miami matchup in Week 1

After some big-time games on Saturday, Sunday will have a top-ten matchup of its own with No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Miami. With that, Paul Finebaum provided a pick this morning for that one between the Fighting Irish and the Hurricanes.

Appearing on ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday, Finebaum went with Notre Dame to win this weekend at Miami. That’s as he has the Irish being back in contention this fall, while he’s unsure about some things, namely at quarterback right now, for the ‘Canes

“I think they’re going to keep doing what they did last year. Remember, they lost that early season game to Northern Illinois, and then they bounced back and went all the way to the championship. And I think they have the chance to get close again,” said Finebaum. “I am so impressed with Marcus Freeman. I think he’s one of the top coaches in the country.

“Miami is good. I’m just a little fuzzy on Carson Beck and exactly what he’s going to look like out there.”

Following him up, ESPN’s Heather Dinich noted the importance of this game for Notre Dame. Without a conference title game to play in, this could be the biggest win of the season for the Irish, being a top-ten victory over a conference contender which could potentially set them up to be undefeated and earn a bye in the College Football Playoff.

“Well, I talked to Marcus Freeman recently about Notre Dame, and this team can actually be better than the one that played for the national title last year. I think some of the questions are the youth at the number two spots,” said Dinich. “But, here’s the reality. Remember, this is a straight-seeding system, so, if Notre Dame is ranked in the top-four on selection day, it gets one of those top-four seeds and a first-round bye. Miami could win the ACC. This could be a road win against the ACC champs. And, if Notre Dame wins this game, they have the best chance of any team in the country to win out.

“So, this one is huge.”

Still, as a top-rated game, it’s going to be closely contested either way, with the Hurricanes having home-field advantage too at Hard Rock Stadium. That’s reflected in the line with Notre Dame currently just a 2.5-point favorite over Miami, per the odds at BetMGM. So, whoever wins it in the end is opening their year with a huge victory that could set up the rest of their season’s successes.

With national implications for the playoff, Notre Dame vs. Miami could be one of the weekend’s best games. Finebaum, though, is going with the Fighting Irish to be that team that opens at 1-0 coming out of Sunday night.