Notre Dame left Happy Valley with a clean sweep and a little momentum to carry home, taking down Penn State 4-2 on Saturday night at Pegula Ice Arena. The Irish backed up Friday’s 5-4 overtime win with another road victory, turning a rough stretch into something that looks a lot more manageable.
That pair of wins pushed Notre Dame to 4-6 on the season and gave the Irish a much-needed response after last weekend’s mess against Wisconsin, when they were beaten 9-1 and 7-1. The Badgers had just flattened them, but the two wins over Penn State showed Notre Dame can still carve out results in the Big Ten and, at the very least, make life difficult for somebody else.
The weekend also kept rolling on the recruiting front. Sacramento Grant Union linebacker Julian Bruno, a 2028 prospect ranked No. 472 overall and No. 32 at his position in the 2028 Rivals Industry Ranking, announced his commitment to Marcus Freeman’s program the day after the Irish beat Miami.
It came during Bruno’s first visit to campus, and Notre Dame beat out Stanford, Cal, Ole Miss, and others for him. He became the third commitment of the weekend, joining Asa Burch and Zaiden Jernigan, who had already pledged before the game.
Notre Dame’s win over Miami was the kind of result that tends to ripple beyond the final score. Safety Luke Talich played a major role in the upset, intercepting Darian Mensah - just the second pick Mensah has thrown this season - and later breaking up a touchdown pass on fourth down to shut down Miami’s last comeback push.
Then came the scene after the final whistle. Fans rushed the field to celebrate the win over the No. 1 team in the country, and Talich got caught in the chaos.
He described the aftermath like this: “Oh, my gosh. I think I got a minor concussion from all the fans hitting my helmet.”
The victory over Miami also changed how the numbers people see Notre Dame. ESPN’s FPI now gives the Irish a 92.0% chance of making the College Football Playoff and a 17.3% chance of winning it all.
Only No. 1 Georgia has better national championship odds.
Still, the postgame conversation drifted away from the scoreboard because Miami coach Mario Cristobal was fixated on the final fourth-down play. Notre Dame’s defense stopped a fourth-and-6 from the Irish 16-yard line, with Talich breaking up a pass from Mensah that Elija Lofton appeared to have secured. The pass was ruled incomplete after Lofton couldn’t finish the catch before going out of bounds and Talich jarred it loose, ending Miami’s final real threat.
“Really, really disappointed that they negated Elija Lofton’s touchdown with two hands on the ball and two feet in bounds,” Cristobal said, kicking off his postgame press conference. “But like we told our team before we left Miami, do not leave it in the hands of the officials, because that’s what you’re going to get out here.”
“So aside from that, a very hard-fought game. Congratulations to Notre Dame for winning the game, and very disappointed in the way that was called with the game on the line and clear possession of a football inbounds.”
The final line in the record book still reads Notre Dame 31, Miami 24. And with the Irish set to find out Tuesday night what that means for their CFP seeding, the win keeps their season pointed in a very different direction than it was just one week ago.
In Other News...
Notre Dames 2028 Class Just Added Another Intriguing Defender
Notre Dames 2028 recruiting class picked up another promising piece with the commitment of linebacker Julian Bruno, who chose the Fighting Irish over Stanford and other programs. Bruno arrives with a reputation as both a strong defender on the field and a high academic prospect, a combination that fits the profile Notre Dame tends to target as it keeps building out its future roster.
Bruno is the third player to commit to the Irish in the last two days, joining other notable additions such as Zaiden Jernigan and Asa Burch. For a class still in its early stages, the quick run of commitments gives Notre Dame some momentum, and Brunos pledge adds another intriguing defender to a group that is starting to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis Title Hopes Now Hinge On One Painful Question
Notre Dames win over Miami did more than hand the Irish a marquee victory, it also reshaped the early national title conversation in a hurry. Fox Sports host Colin Cowherd is still sticking with his preseason view that Notre Dame and Miami can meet again for the championship, even after the Irish beat the Hurricanes 31-24. CJ Carr was central to that result, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns as Notre Dame kept its own playoff path firmly in view.
Miami, meanwhile, is dealing with a far less comfortable reality after wide receiver Malachi Toney is expected to miss several weeks because of injury. The timing matters because the Hurricanes are now trying to hold together their title case while Georgia has also won convincingly and is positioned as a strong candidate to move into the top spot in the next College Football Playoff rankings. For Notre Dame, the bigger picture is simpler: the Irish have already beaten one of the teams expected to live near the top, and the ripple effects are still playing out. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Beat No 1 Miami But The Ending Has Everyone Talking
Notre Dames 31-24 win over No. 1 Miami had the kind of finish that tends to linger long after the final whistle. The Fighting Irish did enough to knock off the top-ranked team, but the decisive moment came late, when Miami appeared to have a chance to pull even before Elijah Loftons potential game-tying catch was ruled incomplete.
Mario Cristobal did not hide his frustration afterward, saying he got no explanation for the call from the officials. Even with the controversy, the ruling fit the established catch rules, and it did not appear to dent Miamis standing for a College Football Playoff berth. Still, for Notre Dame, the victory will be remembered as much for how it ended as for the quality of the win itself. [Read more 🡒]