Number 1 Miami visits number 11 Notre Dame on Saturday night in the biggest game of the college football season, with the Hurricanes unbeaten at 8 and 0 and the Fighting Irish at 7 and 1, in a matchup that will reshape the playoff race. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC, and Notre Dame is favoured by 7 points at home, a mark of respect for a team that has won seven of eight and for a stadium that has decided more big games than any other in the sport. Miami is 8 and 0, but it has not faced a test like this one, and the night will show whether the ranking is real.
Why it matters
The biggest story of the week is not the matchup but the absence. Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, a Heisman Trophy candidate, suffered an ankle injury during the week, underwent surgery, and will now be out for at least four weeks, although he could return for the playoff. Toney makes the Miami offence go, and his absence forces the Hurricanes to find production from supporting players. Notre Dame defence, which has been one of the best in the country, will now face a Miami offence without its best weapon.
The stakes are the top seed, and the shape of the playoff. Miami is 8 and 0, and a win in South Bend would put the Hurricanes in command of the race for the number one seed. A loss would open the race wide, and would give the committee a reason to move another team to the top. Notre Dame, at 7 and 1, needs the win more, because a second loss would likely end its hopes of a top four seed. The game is therefore a test of two different pressures: Miami playing to keep what it has, and Notre Dame playing to save what it wants.
What happens next
The rest of the card is almost as strong. Number 9 Brigham Young visits number 3 Utah at noon on ABC, in the first meeting between the rivals with both ranked in the top 10, and Utah defence has allowed only 0.9 first quarter points per game all season. Number 2 Georgia visits number 12 Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m. on ABC, number 5 Alabama visits number 14 LSU at 3:30 p.m., and Texas visits Missouri at noon. With seven ranked matchups on the card, and with three weeks of the regular season left, the day will produce surprises, and the playoff picture will look very different by Sunday morning.
What happens next will be decided on the field, and the first answer will come from South Bend. If Miami wins without Toney, the Hurricanes will have shown they are more than one player, and the top seed will be theirs to lose. If Notre Dame wins, the Irish will have beaten the number one team in the country, and the playoff race will be thrown open. Either way, the game is the one the season has been building toward, and the night will be remembered as the Saturday when the playoff race finally became real.
