Miami and Notre Dame were both staring at Nov. 7 with unbeaten records. Now the path to South Bend looks a little different, but the showdown is still very much alive.
Miami kept its perfect season intact by outlasting Florida State 43-35 in double overtime, a win that pushed the Hurricanes to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the ACC and moved them into the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25. Notre Dame, meanwhile, took its first loss of the season, falling 28-24 at No. 8 BYU and dropping to 6-1.
The two results reshaped the buildup without changing the basic reality: this meeting still carries enormous weight for the College Football Playoff picture.
For Miami, the win came with plenty to like and a few warning lights. Darian Mensah threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns, though he also tossed his first interception of the season.
Malachi Toney delivered one of the game’s biggest performances, finishing with 11 catches for 154 yards and two scores before catching the go-ahead touchdown in the second overtime and then throwing the two-point conversion to Cooper Barkate. The Hurricanes have now outscored opponents 291-84 through six games, but allowing 35 points to Florida State is the kind of number that stands out.
Notre Dame’s loss looked different, but it carried the same kind of message. The Irish’s 16-game winning streak is over, and the result at BYU put a stop to the early cushion they had built.
CJ Carr went 27-for-49 for 261 yards without a touchdown or interception, while Jaden Greathouse had eight receptions for 125 yards, his best output of the year. Notre Dame did grab a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter after Jonaz Walton scored and added the two-point conversion, but BYU answered on the next drive, and Carr’s final throw to the end zone fell incomplete when the Irish had one last chance.
Health is part of the story for both teams, too. Toney briefly headed to the medical tent with what appeared to be a lower-leg issue before returning, and Bryce Fitzgerald left with an upper-body injury but came back to seal the game with an interception.
Zechariah Poyser was ejected for targeting in the first quarter, though the NCAA now allows a player not to carry a suspension into the next game if it’s the first targeting offense. Miami still has CharMar Brown, Joshua Moore, Max Buchanan, OJ Frederique and Ja’Boree Antoine out for extended periods, while Marquise Lightfoot, Xavier Lucas, Ezekiel Marcelin and Damari Brown were back before the Florida State game and are expected to remain available as the Hurricanes get ready for Pitt.
Notre Dame has had its own injury issues earlier this season, including Leonard Moore’s concussion, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa’s thumb injury and Brauntae Johnson’s foot issue, though most of those players have returned.
The next few weeks will decide what shape that Nov. 7 meeting takes. Notre Dame gets a bye before facing Navy in the Shamrock Series at Gillette Stadium, and the Irish are expected to be heavy favorites there. If they handle Navy, they’d enter the Miami game at 7-1.
Miami, meanwhile, hosts Pitt on Saturday in its first game as the AP’s No. 1 team since the end of the 2002 regular season. Pitt has dropped two straight since quarterback Mason Heintschel suffered a season-ending torn ACL, and the Panthers now turn to true freshman Corey Dailey. After that, Miami goes to North Carolina before heading to South Bend.
In Other News...
Miami Just Got A Huge Recruiting Chance It Couldnt Afford To Lose
A prized recruiting visit is headed to Hard Rock Stadium this weekend, and Miami has plenty at stake with it. DJ Jacobs, the five-star edge rusher in the 2027 class who is committed to Ohio State, is expected to be on hand for the Hurricanes' home game along with his younger brother Dawson Jacobs, a four-star defensive line prospect. Mario Cristobal and his staff have kept the door open with DJ, and the timing gives Miami another chance to make its case in front of two defensive prospects who could matter a lot to the programs future.
The visit comes at a useful moment for the Hurricanes, whose 2027 class has room for more movement after a recent decommitment. Miami has been trying to stay involved with DJ Jacobs while also working on the broader picture with the brothers, but their recruitment remains unsettled for now. For a program looking to turn visits into traction, getting both Jacobs brothers on campus gives the Hurricanes a chance they could not really afford to miss. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Mourns A Former Hurricane Who Meant Far More Than Football
Miamis football family is grieving the loss of Bailey, a former Hurricanes standout whose impact stretched well beyond the field. Drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs after his time in Coral Gables, he was remembered by former teammates for both the player he was and the person he became, with tributes underscoring how much he meant to the program long after his playing days ended.
The timing adds another layer to a week already full of emotion and accomplishment around the Hurricanes, with Malachi Toney earning the Paul Hornung Award for National Player of the Week after his performance against Florida State. Even in the middle of that recognition, the focus in Miami also remains on honoring a former Hurricane whose legacy carried real weight in the locker room and around the program. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Rivalry Win Took A Dark Turn For Damon Wilson II
Miamis win over Florida State should have been remembered as another sharp-edged chapter in the rivalry, but it quickly carried into a much uglier space for Damon Wilson II. After the game, Wilson revealed that he had received alleged racist messages on Instagram from Kade McLendon, an employee of The Florida Bar, turning a celebratory night for the Hurricanes into one with an immediate off-field fallout.
The Florida Bar responded by placing McLendon on administrative leave and opening an internal investigation into the messages, which are said to violate the organizations social media policy. The inquiry is ongoing, and the Bar has said it intends to enforce its policies while also protecting due process rights, leaving the situation still unfolding even as the football result itself is long settled. [Read more 🡒]