Notre Dame beats Miami 31-24 on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium, ending the No. 1 Hurricanes’ perfect season and keeping the Fighting Irish firmly in the College Football Playoff race.
CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the best game of his Notre Dame career, and the Irish built a 24-3 lead in the third quarter before holding off a furious Miami rally. It was revenge for last season, when Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 in the opener — a loss that helped knock the Irish out of the playoff field.
Notre Dame Beats Miami 31-24: How the Irish Built the Lead
Notre Dame scored first and never trailed. The Irish led 17-3 at halftime after Miami wasted its best early chance, settling for a field goal from first-and-goal at the Notre Dame 1-yard line in the second quarter. Carr opened the third quarter with his third touchdown pass of the night to stretch the lead to 24-3.
Carr finished 29 of 40 passing with no interceptions. Micah Gilbert caught two of his scoring passes and finished with nine catches for 98 yards. Jordan Faison caught the other touchdown, and Nolan James Jr. added a rushing score that made it 31-17 with 12:55 left in the fourth quarter.
The defense made the two biggest plays of the night. Safety Luke Talich intercepted Darian Mensah in the third quarter, and with 3:36 left, Talich knocked the ball away from tight end Elija Lofton on a fourth-down pass in the end zone that would have tied the game.
Miami’s Rally Falls Short
Miami (8-1) trailed 24-3 before finding life after halftime. Mensah threw three touchdown passes, finishing 24 of 43 for 276 yards with one interception, and twice pulled the Hurricanes within a touchdown.
Cooper Barkate caught 10 passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and Lofton had seven catches for 113 yards and a score. Miami played without star receiver Malachi Toney, who missed the game with an ankle injury, and the Hurricanes’ top-ranked offense managed just three points and 74 passing yards in the first half.
What the Result Means
Notre Dame (8-1) entered the game ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25 and No. 11 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. A second loss to Miami would have badly damaged the Irish’s playoff hopes; instead, the win gives the selection committee plenty to weigh when the second rankings come out on Tuesday.
With Miami falling, only two unbeaten teams remain in the Football Bowl Subdivision: Utah and UCLA, both 9-0 after wins on Saturday. Miami fell to 44-7 when playing as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, including an 0-2 mark against Notre Dame — the top-ranked Hurricanes also lost to the fourth-ranked Irish 31-30 in the “Catholics vs. Convicts” game in 1988.
Analysis: Carr’s Breakthrough Night
This was the game Notre Dame needed from Carr. His first two career losses both came against Miami and Texas A&M to open last season, and the Irish have spent this year answering for them. Against the nation’s top-ranked team, Carr was accurate, composed and interception-free, and his receivers made the plays Miami’s defense usually prevents. The Irish still let a 21-point lead shrink to one score, so the defense has work to do — but a win over No. 1 covers a lot.
Around Week 10
Saturday’s chaos was not limited to South Bend. No. 2 Georgia rolled past No. 10 Ole Miss 42-7, No. 3 Utah outlasted No. 9 BYU 28-20 in the Holy War, and No. 5 Alabama won 31-13 at No. 14 LSU. Earlier in the day, Oregon’s 41-28 upset of Ohio State in Columbus shook up the Big Ten race.
What Is Next
Notre Dame hosts Boston College next Saturday. Miami returns home to start a season-ending three-game homestand against Duke next Saturday, trying to keep its own playoff hopes alive without Toney.
Sources: AP (via TSN); Reuters (Field Level Media); Palm Beach Post; Fighting Irish Wire / USA Today.
