SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Marcus Freeman didn’t deny the evidence. Even for a program as prestigious as Notre Dame, beating Miami meant a lot.
If that wasn’t enough, it also kept Notre Dame’s national title hopes alive.
CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 4 Notre Dame avenged its most damaging loss of last season by taking a 21-point lead and hanging on to beat No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night.
Micah Gilbert caught two of Carr’s scoring passes, Jordan Faison had the other and Nolan James Jr. had a rushing score for Notre Dame (8-1, College Football Playoff No. 11), which entered the game knowing another loss to Miami could doom its CFP chances.
“It’s a special moment,” said Freeman, the Notre Dame coach. “Enjoy the moment, because tomorrow when you wake up it will be time to prepare for the next one. I know it’s a big moment. It’s big. It’s special. I’m not going to sit here and say it was like the others. No, it’s different.”
The Hurricanes (8-1, No. 1 CFP) started slowly on offense in their first game without an injured wide receiver and Malachi Toney, Heisman Trophy hopeful – and Notre-Dame, who lost to Miami 27-24 last season in a game that ultimately kept the Irish out of the playoffs, they never trailed.
“Our backs were against the wall,” said Irish defensive back Luke Talich, who had an interception and a critical – and contested – pass to help seal the victory.
Darian Mensah threw three touchdown passes for Miami, twice putting the Hurricanes within a touchdown after trailing 24-3 early in the third. Cooper Barkate had two of those goals and Elija Lofton had the other.
“Proud of the guys, the way we fought back,” Mensah said. “Obviously it wasn’t enough.”
Lofton nearly scored a touchdown that would have made the score 31-30 — the score of the 1988 Miami-Notre Dame game — with 3:36 left, appearing to take a fourth down in the end zone and get his feet down.
But Notre Dame’s Luke Talich — who had an interception in the third quarter — batted the ball away, with officials ruling that Lofton did not complete the grab. Notre Dame took over on the downhills, got the clock down to about a minute and held on from there.
Mario Cristobal, Miami coach said he was “beyond angry” that Lofton’s play was not a score.
“It’s obviously a tough loss to take,” Cristobal said. “Proud of our players for their resilience. … Don’t leave it in the hands of the officials. Play better. Practice better. Find a way to win.”
With Miami falling, only two undefeated teams remain in the Football Bowl Subdivision: Utah and UCLA, both of which improved to 9-0 on Saturday. This is the first time since 2003 that only two teams are undefeated in the first nine matches; TCU and Oklahoma did it that year.
On a night when 43 NFL scouts were part of a packed crowd at Notre Dame Stadium, where it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff and falling into the mid-30s as the night wore on, the Irish stayed true to their mantra for 2026 — one born from the frustration of not making it to the CFP field a year ago.
They left no doubt. The ending was a bit shaky, but the Irish’s PCP hopes are alive and well.
“As great a win as I’ve ever been a part of,” Freeman said. “Such a special moment, such a special result that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been the head coach here.”
Takeaways
Miami: Miami scored first-and-goal from Notre Dame 1 in the second quarter and ended up settling for a field goal, after three points – one from Fletcher and two keepers from Mensah – went nowhere. The Hurricanes found themselves trailing 17-3 at halftime, having scored at least 14 points and averaging 27 points in the first half in their first eight games this season.
Notre Dame: The Irish pulled out all the stops, with a slew of former stars — among them Joe Montana, Jerome Bettis Sr., Tony Rice, Chris Zorich, Ricky Watters, Ron Powlus and NBA president of basketball operations Byron Spruell — paying on-court tributes. Also honored was Pat Murphy, manager of the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers, who won 73 percent of his games while coaching at Notre Dame.
Things #1
Miami fell to 44-7 while playing as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, including an 0-2 mark against Notre Dame — after the top-ranked Hurricanes lost to the fourth-ranked Irish 31-30 in the 1988 “Catholics vs. Convicts” game.
Notre Dame improved to 10-17-1 against No. 1 teams, earning its first win in exactly six years. He beat No. 1 Clemson at home on Nov. 7, 2020, a game where the Tigers were without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
To be continued
Miami: Hosts Duke next Saturday.
Notre Dame: Hosts Boston College next Saturday.
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