MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Countless cars and RVs backed up behind the gates outside Hard Rock Stadium hours before kickoff. Fans clutched their newest accessories, chains with a "U," while lining the sidewalks, too.
Not long after those gates opened at 3 p.m., the tailgates were full-go in every lot on a sun-soaked afternoon ahead of the No. 7 Miami's much-anticipated showdown with No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday.
When asked about the crowd later, Miami coach Mark Richt simply smiled and asked a rhetorical question.
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"How can you not play hard for that crowd?" Richt asked. "It was amazing. I'm still sweating from the humidity. It was a very hot night, which I loved."
A game like this was a long time coming, and a crowd of 65,303 couldn't wait to get inside to see how this felt. Maybe it was supposed to feel like the '80s. You saw the plushy Orange Bowl mascot hopping around leg to leg on the field, and the dance team in the camo fatigues. Perhaps it was supposed to feel like the '90s. You heard Tupac and Ludacris blaring at those tailgates. Nelly spliced in a little later each time Miami smacked around a Notre Dame offense that entered the game averaging 324.8 rushing yards per game.
Richt personally challenged the defensive line to match the Irish's offensive line all week, and you could see and hear the results.
"Here comes the BOOM … Here comes the BOOM … Here comes the … Y'all don't really want it now."
Maybe, just maybe, it's OK for Miami to feel like something else entirely in the College Football Playoff era under Richt. After an emphatic 41-8 victory against Notre Dame, the Hurricanes are 9-0 and one of four unbeatens in the FBS along with Alabama, Wisconsin and Central Florida with three weeks left until the final pairings are announced. Miami also clinched a spot in the ACC championship game earlier in the day.
"By the time we got to this game, it became more than a Coastal Division championship," Richt said. "It became an opportunity to truly be in the conversation for a playoff bid. So, we didn't run from it, but we didn't dwell on it either."
You saw the Hurricanes right in the thick of that. You saw speed around the edge from DeeJay Dallas on keepers. You saw precision with quarterback Malik Rosier hitting Braxton Berrios with one foot to spare for a touchdown in the corner of the end zone. You saw an aggressive fourth-and-9 pass in the third quarter, which ended with Lawrence Cager making an over-the-top catch for a first down. You saw Sebastian the Ibis.
You saw "The U" again.
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Rosier, Berrios and others echoed a consistent message. Miami felt disrespected. This happened to be the perfect week to have honorary captain Ed Reed around for practice. He was a star safety the last time the Hurricanes earned that respect.
"Ed never got a chance to play against Notre Dame," safety Jaquan Johnson said. "He wanted us to come out and dominate. We really took to him at practice and listened to him."
You saw that "turnover chain" three times in the first half and four times overall, and that's what unpeeled this Orange Bowl-esque nightmare for the Fighting Irish; a flashback to whichever decade you want. As linebacker Shaq Quarterman put it, "All of a sudden Jaquan Johnson is barking on the sideline like Ed Reed."
Notre Dame trailed 7-0 when Brandon Wimbush double-clutched and threw a hitch to Kevin Stepherson, which Malek Young nearly intercepted. Two players later, Wimbush clutched again, and this time a tipped pass by Equanimeous St. Brown ended up into Johnson's hands. Two plays after that, Rosier dashed in from 16 yards out for a 14-0 lead with 3:09 left in the first quarter.
That's one.
Young would wear the chain next, when Wimbush missed an open receiver. Young, the Hurricanes' star cornerback, sprinted over to the sideline, stood on the bench and waved to the fans. That led to a field goal.
That's two.
Notre Dame turned to backup quarterback Ian Book after Wimbush's second interception, and the Irish moved into Miami territory before a third-and-6. Book threw into traffic, however, and Trajan Bandy jumped the route and didn't stop running until he reached the end zone 65 yards later for a 27-0 lead with 22 seconds left in the half.
That's three, and that was "Ball Game" at halftime.
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"I can flip my switch and go offense or defense on my headset and they were predicting what was going to happen on a couple plays," Richt said. "That was one of them."
Bandy's pick was one of those plays, and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and Brady both confirmed that. They knew the pass was coming, and Bandy said he made that play two or three times in practice this week. That was Miami's first defensive touchdown of the season.
"I give credit to Mark Richt," Diaz said. "He walked into our defensive meeting this week and said it's about time we scored a TD."
The second half served as a formality, where it became time to openly wonder whether Miami, in fact, is the team ready to challenge Alabama a quarter-century after their legendary Sugar Bowl tilt. That's to be determined, but we're locked into a Clemson vs. Miami ACC championship game that almost certainly will decide one of those four playoff spots.
But the Miami fans weren't done. They waited all day for this. They serenaded Notre Dame with 12:24 left in the fourth quarter.
"O-ver-rated! O-ver-rated!"
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For the Irish, it had to feel like a little bit like 1985, when Jimmy Johnson's Hurricanes routed Gerry Faust's Irish in a 58-7 knockout punch. Brian Kelly won't lose his job for this one, but it will create another conversation about Notre Dame, whose second loss likely keeps it out of the playoff, given its lack of a championship game to fall back on. Jonathan Garvin strip-sacked Wimbush one more time and recovered the fumble.
That's four.
Then, on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Dallas put the final signature on the blowout with a touchdown run up the middle for the final margin. Dallas then flashed "The U" to the crowd, which by that point had parsed out almost all the Notre Dame contingent who came to Miami Gardens to watch the Irish solidify its playoff spot.
They left like they did the Orange Bowl in the 1980s. Hard Rock Stadium became a retro house of horrors for the Irish. Miami, meanwhile, celebrated what they showed up early looking for. They celebrated down to the last second. That led to a one more chant.
"It's great … to be … a Mi-a-mi Hurricane."
"Tonight was I guess a dominating performance," Richt said. "I don't know if we are truly a team that can sit there and dominate every team we play. But we can bring it."
So, is "The U" back? That depends on who you ask. Berrios said this means the Hurricanes can't be disrespected. For a senior like Kc McDermott, it's a culmination of a four-year ride that has put the program back on the rise. Richt keeps telling his players he wants them to be special.
Yet Quarterman answered the question point blank. Is "The U" back?
"No," he said. "We've gotta get a ring first."
After Saturday's performance, those fans will be looking for the next big game when that chance comes. They'll get it at the ACC championship.
