’CANE AND FABLE
Nothing better than when Miami-N.D. means a lot: Vilma
Jonathan Vilma missed the “Catholics vs. Convicts” era and did not even play Notre Dame in his decorated career at Miami, yet their one-time rivals were never ignored. “It was always talked about whether Notre Dame was doing well or not doing well,” said Vilma, who played for the Hurricanes from 2000-03 and was part of their 2001 national championship team and is now an ESPN analyst. “That perception of Notre Dame where they have a nice, clean image and Miami had that brawling, defiant image. It was always a battle of perception. We always had respect for Notre Dame and I like the way they’re playing football right now and what Brian Kelly has going on there, but there’s always that stigma. The thing about it is a yin and yang. I love it because when both are really good there’s nothing better than that in college football.” Perception will meet reality on Sat- urday night when the teams meet in South Florida in a game that has significant national title implications with Notre Dame (8-1) at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings and Miami (8-0) at No. 7. They have met in recent seasons, but with nothing close to the ramifications of their late ’80searly ’90s battles that defined the sport.
“Notre Dame, even if they do win out are going to be on that last weekend hoping they made a big enough impression. This is their opportunity to make that impression,” Vilma said. “For Miami, this has no ramifications for the ACC, yet all the ramifications for the playoffs.”
The teams have taken surprising routes to this moment. Miami is riding a dominant front seven that spearheads one of the top defenses in the country. Notre Dame is being led by Heisman-contending running back Josh Adams and dual-threat quarterback Brandon Wimbush. The Irish are averaging 324 rushing yards a game, behind only Army and Arizona.
“It’s going to be very interesting because it’s strength on strength,” said Vilma, who was drafted by the Jets and played four seasons in New York.
“Notre Dame’s strength is the offensive line, Brandon Wimbush and Josh Adams are running the ball remarkably well and you are going against a front seven that has put Miami where it’s at right now. Notre Dame understands that the runs are going to go for 2 or 3 yards in the first quarter, if they commit to, will go for 8 or 9 yards in the fourth quarter. It’s going to be a battle of wills late in the game.”
The Notre Dame-Miami matchup is one of several high-stakes games on Saturday with No. 6 TCU visiting No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama facing stiff SEC road tests at Auburn and Mississippi State, respectively.
“Oklahoma-TCU is an elimination game. As much as I like Georgia, Auburn is a very good team with a very good defense, so I am interested to see how Georgia responds to that environment,” Vilma said.
“But this one — Notre Dame and Miami — is the biggest game of the day.”