SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the second time in three weeks, Notre Dame hosts a MAC opponent as a four-touchdown favorite. And there’s a good chance the experience against Northern Illinois will influence how Saturday afternoon’s game (3:30 p.m., NBC) against Miami (Ohio) plays out.

It’s a lesson Notre Dame didn’t want to learn so publicly, but Marcus Freeman won’t let it go to waste as the Irish restore the credibility they lost on that shocking afternoon earlier this month.

“One loss can’t stop us from having the mindset that we need to prepare properly mentally and physically for an opponent,” Freeman said. “As I said last week, we can be a really good football team. We still have work to do.”

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Miami will bring a lot of familiarity to Notre Dame Stadium, starting with head coach Chuck Martin, who is now in his 11th season at Oxford after four seasons in South Bend. Offensive coordinator Pat Welsh and defensive coordinator Bill Brechin were on the Notre Dame staff with Martin. Safeties coach Robert Blanton played for Notre Dame during Martin’s tenure, where he also served as offensive coordinator and defensive line coach. Quarterbacks coach Gus Ragland not only started Miami’s last trip here seven years ago against Notre Dame, but was also on the Notre Dame staff (2019-22), where Freeman served his first tenure as head coach.

For Notre Dame, it’s best if those connections are more prominent on Saturday than the result itself, as the Irish look to take the second step in a winning streak that Freeman hopes will last until November.

Here’s what else is worth watching this weekend, as well as a forecast.

In Notre Dame’s decisive win over Purdue, tight end Mitchell Evans caught three passes for 27 yards. (Alex Martin / Journal and Courier / USA Today via Imagn Images)

Is the new offensive line well received?

When Charles Jagusah suffered a season-ending chest/shoulder injury in the first week of training camp, it meant Notre Dame would never start its first offensive line this season. When center Ashton Craig (knee) was out for the year at Purdue and guard Billy Schrauth (ankle) was out for a couple of weeks, it meant the Irish suddenly had to rely on makeshift players on offense before the end of September.

Fortunately for Notre Dame, the line has gained experience with the return of center Pat Coogan and guard Rocco Spindler. A front that made just six career starts before Texas A&M will have 32 career starts this weekend. Coogan recorded 13 last season and Spindler 10.

“They never wavered, never complained, never stamped their feet,” offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. “They just worked, and I’m glad they’re being rewarded for it. At the same time, it’s sad that it happened like this.”

How much Notre Dame has lost without Craig and Schrauth up front may be revealed next weekend when Louisville visits. Miami has triple digits in tackles for loss per game (3.5) and sacks per game (1.0). That means Saturday may be a start to the lineup for Coogan and Spindler, even after playing most of the Purdue game. The Irish will need both veterans to step up.

“There’s a reason you go through the process of determining who the starters are and who the backups are,” Denbrock said. “We never lost the trust, commitment or love for Rocco or Pat and we communicated that clearly to them and let them know: Listen, you saw in training camp how quickly a projected starter has to be replaced by another member.”

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Will the pass rush be successful despite its rejuvenation?

Notre Dame knows Jordan Botelho is out for the rest of the season after injuring his knee at Purdue. It’s unclear if Joshua Burnham will return after sitting out last week with an ankle sprain sustained in the final minutes against Northern Illinois. His participation is listed as questionable in Notre Dame’s game notes and Freeman declined to clarify his status Thursday.

That could give Notre Dame the opportunity to rely on younger players against Miami. Assuming Burnham can’t play, the starting defensive ends will likely be Boubacar Traore and RJ Oben, but the Irish could also add freshmen Loghan Thomas and Bryce Young to the defensive end rotation, with Jason Onye also having some work there over the past two weeks.

Junior Tuihalamaka also played defensive end against Purdue after switching between linebacker and defensive line over the past two seasons.

“Loghan will be available and has a chance to play on Saturday,” Freeman said. “He had a good week of practice. Boubacar has played really well into the starting role. Junior (Tuihalamaka) probably had one of his best weeks of practice.”

As long as Burnham is available for Louisville in two weeks, the shorter rotation at defensive end this weekend may not be a major factor. But it could open Young and Thomas up for future assignments, similar to how Traore has flashed over the past two weeks. The sophomore from Boston has star potential.

“I think there was a learning curve,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said of Traore. “I see maturity now, I see determination now. I see him trying to be a total defensive end now. As a freshman, we asked him to pass rush and he did that for us, but now I see a different person.”

Can Notre Dame maintain its explosive running game?

The Irish have already completed nine 20-yard runs this season, and it seems there will be more.

With Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Riley Leonard, Notre Dame has turned its offense into a home run waiting to happen on every run, even as it tries to make it past halftime at Purdue. There, Price ran 70 yards for a touchdown, putting Purdue under pressure even as the Boilermakers were already down. It’s not that a dominant running game is new at Notre Dame, it just feels different.

“In the back of my mind every play I feel like I can hit a home run,” Price said. “The reality is that it doesn’t happen every time. These are DI football players too. They’re good players. With what I do in practice and my attitude when I go into the game, I feel like there’s not a play I can’t do that on.”

Only three teams have more 20-yard runs than Notre Dame this season, and it’s hard to imagine the Irish not staying near the top of that list. Leonard, Love and Price combine to average 6.9 yards per run, with Love leading that group with 8.0 yards. As much as Notre Dame needs to take its passing game to new heights with Leonard, that running game should eventually help the Irish quarterback become effective in the play-action game.

Until then, Leonard can hand the ball off to Love and Price and trust them to bust one. Or Leonard could just take it himself. Even with a revamped offensive line, Notre Dame’s running backs (and its quarterback) can make up for a missed block with a big play.

forecast

Much like the last time Notre Dame hosted a MAC program, the Irish shouldn’t be pushed to the limit. It didn’t work out that way against Northern Illinois, which could make life more difficult for Miami. The mutual respect between the teams should prevent a repeat of Purdue, which ended with the biggest loss in the history of this series. It’s hard to imagine Miami having much (or any) offensive success against Notre Dame. But it’s also hard to imagine the Irish running over the RedHawks. Notre Dame wins by a wide margin as the Irish defense shines once again.

Notre Dame 37, Miami 13

(Top photo: Alex Martin / Journal and Courier / USA Today via Imagn Images)