No. 1 is down. Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead on Saturday night and then held on for dear life, beating top-ranked Miami 31-24 at Notre Dame Stadium in the biggest result of the college football weekend.
CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, who handed the Hurricanes their first loss of the season. Both teams now sit at 8-1. For three quarters it looked like a rout. By the final minute, Notre Dame needed a fumble on a desperation lateral play to finally end it.
Carr picked Miami apart early
Notre Dame scored on the game’s first possession, a 44-yard field goal by Spencer Porath, and Carr took over from there. He found Jordan Faison for a 27-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, then hit Micah Gilbert for an 18-yard score with 29 seconds left in the half. Carr completed 18 of 26 passes for 205 yards before halftime, according to NBC Sports.
Miami’s only answer before the break was a field goal, and even that felt like a win for the Irish defense. The Hurricanes drove all the way to the Notre Dame 1-yard line, ran the ball again and again, and still settled for three points. Miami played without star receiver Malachi Toney, who is out with a high ankle sprain, and quarterback Darian Mensah threw for just 74 yards in the first half, according to the Palm Beach Post.
A 24-3 lead nearly vanished
Carr opened the third quarter with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Gilbert, his second scoring catch of the night, and Notre Dame led 24-3. Gilbert finished with nine catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Then Mensah woke up. He threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Elija Lofton, then found Cooper Barkate for a 12-yard score less than three minutes later. Luke Talich intercepted Mensah late in the third quarter, only the second interception Mensah has thrown all season, and early in the fourth Nolan James Jr. scored on a short run on a drive kept alive by a Miami facemask penalty. It was 31-17, and the home crowd could breathe again.
Not for long. Barkate caught a 1-yard touchdown pass with 9:53 left, his second score of the game, and the lead was down to 31-24. Barkate finished with 10 catches for 92 yards, and Lofton added seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Three stands saved the Irish
Porath missed a 53-yard field goal with 5:49 to play, and Miami drove straight back down the field. On fourth down with 3:36 left, Mensah threw for Lofton in the end zone. Lofton got his hands on the ball, but Talich knocked it loose, and officials ruled that he never completed the catch. It was the same Talich who had intercepted Mensah earlier in the half.
Miami forced a punt and got one last chance, starting at its own 13-yard line with about a minute left. The Hurricanes reached their own 38, but the final play turned into a hook-and-ladder scramble. Barkate fumbled during the lateral sequence, Leonard Moore forced the ball out, and Jaiden Ausberry recovered for Notre Dame as the clock hit zero.
What it means for the playoff race
The win is Notre Dame’s first over Miami in a decade, and it comes with history attached. Miami beat the Irish in last season’s opener, a loss that ultimately kept Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff. This time the Irish own the head-to-head win over the nation’s top team, and their path back into the bracket is clear if they keep winning.
Miami’s season is bruised, not broken. The Hurricanes are still 6-0 in ACC play and control their route to the conference title game, starting with a home game against Duke on November 14. But the No. 1 ranking is gone, and the margin for error went with it. The game headlined the loaded slate we previewed in our guide to Saturday’s seven ranked matchups, and you can follow the shifting playoff picture in our Sports coverage.
Sources: Associated Press game recap; sportradar box score and play-by-play; NBC Sports; USA Today; Palm Beach Post; 247Sports.