Notre Dame’s playoff path is still alive, and the Irish earned that lifeline the hard way.
No. 11 Notre Dame took down No.
1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night inside a loud Notre Dame Stadium, handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the season and giving head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr a breakthrough win they had been chasing. It was Notre Dame’s first victory over a No. 1 team in six years, and Freeman’s first against the top-ranked team.
Carr wasn’t flashy, but he was in control from start to finish. He completed 29 of 40 passes for a season-high 319 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball to 10 different receivers. Notre Dame didn’t lean on the run game much, finishing with just 93 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Miami quarterback Darien Mensah fought through a quiet first half and finished with 276 passing yards, 227 of them after halftime, plus three touchdowns. The Hurricanes found the end zone on four of their five red zone trips, but the one miss late in the fourth quarter ended up looming largest.
Notre Dame set the tone early with a 44-yard field goal from Spencer Porath on the opening drive. The Irish moved 50 yards in 11 plays and took a 3-0 lead after using 5:22 off the clock.
The next time Notre Dame got the ball, Carr helped the offense strike quickly. On the first play of a four-play, 65-yard drive, Jordan Faison turned a 26-yard catch into momentum, then Carr found him again in the front corner of the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown. That made it 10-0 just before the second quarter really got going.
Miami answered with a drive to the Notre Dame 1, but the Irish defense held firm. Jaiden Ausberry and Boubacar Traore stopped Mensah for no gain on third down when he tried to run left, forcing the Hurricanes to settle for a Jake Weinberg field goal.
Before halftime, Notre Dame got one more chance and made it count. After forcing a third punt, the Irish took over with 2:08 left in the half and marched 81 yards in eight plays.
Carr capped it with an 18-yard touchdown to Micah Gilbert, sending Notre Dame into the break up 17-3. Gilbert finished as the Irish’s top receiver with 9 catches for 98 yards.
The second half opened with more trouble for Miami. The Hurricanes punted, Faison mishandled the ball, then picked it up and ripped off a 56-yard return to the Miami 30. Notre Dame needed only three plays to cash in, with Carr hitting Gilbert from 20 yards out to push the lead to 24-3.
Miami finally found the end zone on its next long drive, as Mensah connected with Elija Lofton on a 12-yard score to cut it to 24-10. That series came after Irish cornerback Leonard Moore left the field earlier in the drive following a tackle on Mark Fletcher.
The Hurricanes kept pressing. After a Notre Dame three-and-out and a 25-yard punt by Jasper Scaife, Miami started at its own 47 and converted on 4th and 1 at the Irish 43. Mensah then hit a wide-open Lofton for 31 yards before finding Cooper Barkate for a 12-yard touchdown, trimming the margin to 24-17.
Notre Dame answered with the kind of drive that tends to decide games like this. Facing 4th and 2 at the Miami 43, Freeman chose aggression over caution.
Carr found Nolan James, Jr. uncovered out of the backfield, and James sprinted to the seven. Four plays later, he scored from a yard out to make it 31-17 with 12:55 left.
Miami wasn’t finished. Barkate broke free for 35 yards on a screen on third-and-8, then caught another pass for a 1-yard touchdown to pull the Hurricanes within seven again with 9:53 remaining.
Notre Dame had a chance to stretch the lead but missed a 53-yard field goal wide left, giving Miami one last opening. Mensah responded with a 41-yard completion to Lofton, moving the ball to the Notre Dame 22. The Hurricanes went for it on 4th and 6 at the 18, but Mensah’s throw for Lofton in the end zone fell incomplete.
That left Notre Dame with the ball and a 31-24 lead with 3:36 to play. James then carried six straight times, helping the Irish burn clock and force Miami into one final possession. After Notre Dame punted, the Hurricanes got the ball at their own 13 with 57 seconds left.
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