For a stretch Saturday night, Notre Dame had Miami on the ropes in the kind of game that can define a season. Then the No. 1 team in the country found its footing, and the Fighting Irish needed a playmaker to slam the door.
Luke Talich answered.
With starting safety Brauntae Johnson sidelined since the second half of the season opener against Wisconsin, Talich has been seeing more of the field this year than he otherwise would have. He made the most of it against Miami, turning in the biggest performance of his season when Notre Dame needed it most.
The spotlight was on Darian Mensah, a top Heisman Trophy candidate, and Talich went right at the challenge. He picked Mensah off once when Miami had seized momentum, giving the Irish a chance to settle down and regroup.
Later, with Miami pushing for a tying touchdown, Talich came through again. It looked like he had been beaten on a throw into the end zone, but he stayed with the play and knocked the ball loose as the receiver came down with it. The result was an incompletion on fourth down, and Miami’s drive was over.
Notre Dame still had one more tense moment to survive. The Hurricanes got the ball back for another possession with less than a minute left, but the Irish defense held firm again. This time, it forced a fumble on a desperation play and recovered it as the clock wound down.
That finish gave Notre Dame a 31-24 win over the No. 1 team in the country, a result that not only counts as a major upset but also strengthens the Irish case in front of a College Football Playoff committee that had questioned the quality of their wins.
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Colin Cowherd Just Gave Notre Dame Fans New CFP Ammo
Colin Cowherds latest take on the College Football Playoff rankings gave Notre Dame fans fresh talking points, and not just because he pushed back on the Irish sitting at No. 11. He took aim at the committees decision to place Indiana at No. 4, while Notre Dame remains on the outside looking in, and argued that the gap between the two teams is not as straightforward as the rankings suggest.
Cowherd also revisited Notre Dames loss to BYU, saying the ending should be viewed through the lens of controversial officiating and the Big 12s admitted errors. He pointed to Notre Dames statistical edge over Indiana and questioned how the committee is weighing signature wins, which leaves the Irish with another public argument for why their rsum deserves a closer look. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames 2028 Class Just Added Another Intriguing Defender
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Bruno brings the kind of profile Notre Dame tends to value on and off the field, with a reputation as a strong high school defender and a high academic prospect. For a program that has long sold both development and fit, landing a player with that combination only adds to the intrigue around what the 2028 class could become as more decisions start to stack up. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDays Notre Dame Split Will Fuel Miami Debate
ESPNs College GameDay turned South Bend into the center of the college football weekend ahead of Notre Dames matchup with Miami, and the shows pick segment only added to the buzz around the game. Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Kirk Herbstreit and guest picker Jason Sudeikis all weighed in on a slate of Week 10 games, with the Irish drawing the bulk of the support in the marquee showdown.
Four of the five panelists backed Notre Dame to handle Miami, but Howard went the other way and sided with the Hurricanes. It is the kind of split that gives a prime-time matchup a little extra edge, especially with GameDay on site and the Irish getting the kind of national attention that comes with being the featured game of the day. [Read more 🡒]