Notre Dame already lost one home game to a Mid-American Conference opponent. The Irish are doing everything possible to avoid a repeat.

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

No. 17 Notre Dame hopes to avoid another upset at the hands of a Mid-American Conference team when it hosts Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.

Irish fans want Notre Dame to be successful against opponents but also want them to be successful long-term. Leonard needs to go out on the field on Saturday and throw for the end zone. Especially since his backup, fan-favorite junior Steve Angeli threw for two touchdowns in less time last week.

Notre Dame football faces a MAC school again this week in Miami (Ohio), looking to avoid what happened two weeks ago against Northern Illinois.

No. 17 Notre Dame already lost one home game to a Mid-American Conference opponent. The 17th-ranked Fighting Irish (2-1) are doing everything possible to avoid a repeat when they host Miami (Ohio) — and a coach who understands the Notre Dame mystique better than most.

Miami (Ohio) is on an ugly two-game losing streak after falling to Cincinnati and Northwestern, who is barely better than Purdue in the Big Ten Power Rankings on ESPN right now. Through the first two weeks of the season,

To help us find out, I reached back out to our good friends at Hustle Belt, SB Nation’s center for MAC coverage and the site you may remember from our Q&A two weeks ago when the