It's easy to focus on these team's skill position stars. I choose, though, to put more credence on the defenses. They are both outstanding.

Notre Dame ranks 17th in scoring defense giving up 18.4 points a game. They've held all but one of their nine opponents to 20 points or less.

The Irish have a very strong run defense. Notre Dame, however, ranks 90th in pass defense. I'm not a fan of Miami QB Malik Rosier, though. He's completed less than 50 percent of his throws in his past two games and been picked off four times. Notre Dame has forced at least one turnover in each of its games.

The Hurricanes are holding opponents to only 17.6 points a game, which is 12th-best in the nation. Only one of their last six foes have scored more than 20 points. The Hurricanes held Virgina Tech to 10 points last week.

The opportunistic Hurricanes defense has the speed and muscle to slow down Notre Dame's ground attack. Miami has forced 20 turnovers and ranks fourth in the country in takeaways/giveaways.