Notre Dame Stuns No. 1 Miami 31-24
The Fighting Irish extended their home winning streak against the Hurricanes to 42 years with a third-quarter surge.
By Aiko Brooks ·
Notre Dame defeated No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday in South Bend. The loss snapped Miami's winning streak and gave the Fighting Irish their tenth victory over an AP No. 1 opponent in school history. This win likely secures a College Football Playoff spot for Notre Dame as an at-large bid.
CJ Carr led the offense for the Irish. He passed for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Micah Gilbert caught two of those passes for 98 receiving yards. The team built a 24-3 lead before Miami began its comeback. Gilbert caught 18- and 20-yard touchdown passes from Carr to extend the margin.
Miami struggled early without star wideout Malachi Toney, who missed the game with a high ankle sprain. The Canes managed only 28 yards of offense in the first quarter. Notre Dame held Miami scoreless in that opening period for the first time this season. Miami settled for a field goal with 6:25 left in the second quarter after failing to convert at the one-yard line three times.
Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate drove Miami's second-half response. Mensah threw for 276 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Barkate caught 10 passes for 92 yards and two scores. Tight end Elija Lofton led both teams with 112 receiving yards and one touchdown. Miami cut the deficit to 24-17 in the fourth quarter.
An interception by Mensah with under 13 minutes left allowed Notre Dame to score again. That gave the Irish a 31-17 lead. Miami drove 75 yards on seven plays to score a one-yard touchdown via Barkate. The Canes then faced fourth and six from the Notre Dame 18-yard line.
Mensah threw to Lofton in the end zone. Lofton appeared to complete the catch and step out of bounds. Officials ruled the catch incomplete after Luke Talich punched the ball away. Miami head coach Mario Cristobal reacted strongly on the sideline. Notre Dame used the remaining three minutes to end the game.
The result marked Miami's tenth loss in its last 11 trips to South Bend. The Hurricanes are 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the ACC. They return home on November 14 to face Duke in a Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for noon on ABC.
