Miami and Notre Dame both kept their perfect seasons intact in Week 5, and the November meeting that could shape the college football race is still very much on track.
Both teams came through road ACC tests on Saturday, with Notre Dame winning 37-26 at North Carolina and Miami rolling to a 41-13 victory at Clemson. Each program is 5-0, and each has a clear path over the next month before the two collide on Nov. 7.
Notre Dame’s trip to Chapel Hill extended a lot of things at once. The Irish stretched their winning streak to 15 games, picked up a second straight road win, and posted the best start of the Marcus Freeman era. It was also Notre Dame’s first 5-0 start since 2020.
CJ Carr was sharp throughout the rain-soaked win, going 21 of 29 for 234 yards and four touchdowns while also scoring on a 3-yard run on fourth-and-goal. For the season, he is 88 of 124 for 1,197 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception.
The Irish also got a big day from Jordan Faison, who hauled in eight catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns, including a diving 39-yard score. Freshman Jonaz Walton added 23 carries for a career-high 120 yards as Notre Dame finished with 475 total yards. The ground game, which had averaged 141.8 yards through four games, jumped to 241 yards against the Tar Heels, while the defense limited North Carolina to 77 rushing yards.
Notre Dame’s scoring output has been just as imposing. The Irish opened with a 41-13 win over Wisconsin in the Shamrock Series at Lambeau Field, then beat Rice 52-0, Michigan State 27-10 and Purdue 49-10 before the win at North Carolina. Through five games, Notre Dame has outscored opponents 206-59, averaging 41.2 points and allowing 11.8.
North Carolina did briefly tighten things up with a 98-yard kickoff return that cut the margin to one, but Notre Dame answered with a 17-play, 75-yard drive that lasted more than nine minutes and included three fourth-down conversions.
Miami’s statement win at Clemson carried plenty of its own punch. The Hurricanes are 5-0 and 3-0 in the ACC after their first victory in Memorial Stadium since 2010, and the 28-point margin was their second-largest in the series. Miami now leads the rivalry 8-7.
Darian Mensah completed 18 of 27 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. He also scored on a 34-yard scramble that ended with him being hit, fumbling the ball into the end zone and recovering it for the touchdown.
Mark Fletcher Jr. was back after missing the Central Michigan game and ran for 77 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. One of those scores finished a nine-play, 62-yard drive on a 1-yard run. Cooper Barkate had five catches for 98 yards, highlighted by a 61-yard screen on the first snap from scrimmage, and Malachi Toney added five receptions for 40 yards to reach 604 yards on the season.
Miami’s defense made plenty of noise too. Freshman JJ Dunnigan returned his first career interception 39 yards for a touchdown, and the Hurricanes finished with six sacks and nine tackles for loss. Damon Wilson II was responsible for 2.5 of those sacks.
The numbers across Miami’s five games are eye-catching. The Hurricanes have outscored Stanford, Florida A&M, Wake Forest, Central Michigan and Clemson 248-49, which works out to 49.6 points per game and 9.8 allowed. They also rank first nationally against the run at 42.6 yards per game and first in total offense at 549.6 yards per game.
Both teams also came out of Week 5 dealing with injuries.
For Notre Dame, safety Brauntae Johnson and defensive tackle Jason Onye were out at North Carolina after getting hurt in the first half against Wisconsin. Also unavailable were offensive linemen Matty Augustine, Charles Jagusah and Chris Terek, defensive linemen Christopher Burgess Jr. and Tiki Hola, and cornerback Chaz Smith. Wide receiver Quincy Porter is out for the season.
Safety Luke Talich returned a little more than a week after hand surgery and played every defensive snap in a cast.
Miami had its own injury list to manage. Joshua Moore, Luke Gilbert and CharMar Brown are out for the season, while defensive backs Xavier Lucas, O.J.
Frederique Jr. and Ja'Boree Antoine were out against Clemson. Linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. was cleared to play after being probable Friday, and Fletcher was off the report after missing Central Michigan with an upper-body injury from Wake Forest.
The Hurricanes also had to juggle some in-game setbacks. Right tackle Matthew McCoy left in the second quarter with an arm injury, then returned in the third quarter wearing a shoulder harness.
Right guard Max Buchanan also exited in the second quarter with a left leg injury and came back in the third. Jamal Meriweather and SJ Alofaituli filled in while they were out.
Edge rusher Marquise Lightfoot had a sack in the first quarter before leaving in the second after appearing to injure his arm. He did not return, and Cristobal said after the game that there would be no update on him until Tuesday or Wednesday, adding that the team had a lot of guys go down.
The next month sets up the final approach to Nov. 7.
Notre Dame hosts Stanford on Oct. 10, visits No. 10 BYU on Oct. 17, has a bye, then plays Navy on Oct. 31 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Miami is off in Week 6, then hosts Florida State on Oct. 17, hosts Pitt on Oct. 24 and visits North Carolina on Oct. 31.
In Other News...
Miami Looked Like A Title Contender But One Concern Is Growing
Miamis win over Clemson did a lot more than add another quality result to the rsum. The Hurricanes backed it up with a defense that held Clemson to 13 points and just one touchdown, while the offense found enough explosive plays to keep control of the game. Cooper Barkate delivered the kind of breakout performance that can change the feel of a season, highlighted by a 61-yard touchdown catch, and Darian Mensah added scoring through both the air and on the ground.
The problem for Miami was everything that happened around the win. The Hurricanes were dealing with multiple injuries by the end of the game, including to key offensive linemen and cornerbacks, and while some players were able to return after leaving, the list of in-game issues kept growing. For a team that just looked every bit like a title contender, the concern now is less about whether Miami can beat top competition and more about how long it can keep doing it with so many bodies being asked to hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis Biggest Worry After Clemson Has Nothing To Do With The Score
Miami left Clemson with a convincing 40-13 win in a primetime matchup, and the performance had the feel of a complete road statement even with several key players banged up along the way. The Hurricanes absorbed injuries on both lines and in the secondary, yet the defense still smothered Clemsons rushing attack and finished with six sacks while the ground game produced 192 yards and three touchdowns.
The bigger concern now is less about the scoreboard and more about how Miami comes out of it physically as the calendar turns to Florida State. A rivalry game of that size demands depth and health, and the Hurricanes have already seen how quickly their margin can shrink when the injuries start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Gave The ACC No Real Case Against No. 1
Miamis win over Clemson did more than add another eye-catching result to the ledger. It gave the Hurricanes a weekend built on both style and substance, the kind of showing that tends to linger in the ACC pecking order. With Miami stacking up as the leagues benchmark in scoring and defense, the argument around the top spot is starting to look less like a debate and more like an acknowledgment of what has already happened on the field.
Around the conference, a few teams flashed enough to keep the race interesting, from Pitt and Duke to SMU and Louisville, while others like Florida State, Virginia Tech and Clemson continue sorting out where they really fit. But Miamis combination of a statement win and season-long consistency leaves the ACC with a familiar problem: if the No. 1 team keeps handling its biggest tests, there may not be much left to argue about. The next stretch will show whether anyone can make that case anyway. [Read more 🡒]