Notre Dame had the upper hand when it mattered, and Miami’s late push still wasn’t enough.
No. 11 Notre Dame handed No.
1 Miami its first loss of the season Saturday, winning 31-24 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Hurricanes erased most of a 24-7 hole and came within one play of tying it in the fourth quarter, but an end zone pass to Elija Lofton was knocked away with 3:36 left, and Miami never got the ball back.
The loss came with a familiar edge to it for Notre Dame. Miami had knocked the Fighting Irish out of the playoff picture last season with its season-opening win at Hard Rock Stadium, but this time the Irish got the payoff.
Miami’s first-half problems started with a defense that could only hold for so long. The Hurricanes opened by forcing a field goal on Notre Dame’s first possession, but the Irish quickly found their rhythm.
C.J. Carr hit Jordan Faison, a South Florida native and Pine Crest alumnus, on a 27-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to make it 10-0.
The Hurricanes had a chance to answer right away. They put together a 14-play, 83-yard drive and got all the way to the 1-yard line, but Notre Dame stonewalled three straight runs and forced Jake Weinberg to settle for a 19-yard field goal, Miami’s shortest since October 2019, according to the AP.
Notre Dame made that stop sting. After Miami stalled again late in the half, Carr led an 81-yard drive in 1:39 and finished it with an 18-yard touchdown to Micah Gilbert. Then, after a 56-yard punt return by Faison, Carr found Gilbert again on a 20-yard score that pushed the Irish further ahead.
Miami finally got on the board in the third quarter when Darian Mensah connected with Elija Lofton for a 12-yard touchdown. The Hurricanes then forced a three-and-out and cut the margin again on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Mensah to Cooper Barkate, trimming the deficit to one score with 5:29 left in the third.
But the comeback hit a wall on the next big chance. Mensah threw an interception to Luke Talich on a drive that could have tied the game, only his second interception of the season. Notre Dame turned that mistake into seven points, converting a fourth-and-3 before Nolan James Jr. punched in a 1-yard touchdown run four plays later.
Miami still wasn’t done. Mensah found Barkate again on a 1-yard touchdown pass, and the defense forced Notre Dame into a long field goal attempt that missed.
That gave the Hurricanes one more shot, and they drove quickly into position to tie it. The final throw to Lofton in the end zone, though, was broken up on fourth down.
Barkate finished with nine catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns as Miami tried to keep pace without Malachi Toney, who suffered an ankle injury in practice Wednesday and is likely out for the rest of the regular season. Without him, the Hurricanes had trouble generating explosive plays and sustaining drives early, even if the offense found life after halftime.
Carr was the difference for Notre Dame. He went 29 of 40 for 319 yards and three touchdowns, with all three of the Irish’s first scores coming through the air. Miami also never recorded a sack, giving Carr too much time to work from the pocket.
The Hurricanes’ missed chances piled up: the goal-line stand in the first half, the failed push to control the “middle eight,” and the interception that swung the game back to Notre Dame. Still, after a rough opening half, Miami kept fighting and gave itself a real chance to steal the game late in a tough road setting.
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