Notre Dame knocks off top-ranked Miami

Michael Reaves/Getty Images SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard SOUTH BEND, Ind. — CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 4 Notre Dame avenged its most damaging loss from last season by running out to a 21-point lead and holding on to beat No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night. Micah Gilbert caught two of those scoring passes, Jordan Faison had the other and Nolan James Jr. had a rushing score for Notre Dame (8-1, No. 11 College Football Playoff), which came into the game knowing another loss to Miami could doom its national championship hopes. Not to worry. The Hurricanes (8-1, No. 1 CFP) started slowly on offense in their first game without injured wide receiver and Heisman Trophy hopeful Malachi Toney — and Notre Dame, which lost to Miami 27-24 last season in a game that ultimately kept the Irish out of the playoff, never trailed. “I’m happy for this university,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said in a televised on-field interview. “I’m happy for our players. There’s a lot of support from Notre Dame Nation and this is special moment for them. ... They’re a dang good football team and they beat a dang good football team.” Darian Mensah threw three touchdown passes for Miami, twice getting the Hurricanes within a touchdown after they trailed 24-3 early in the third. Cooper Barkate had a pair of those scoring grabs, and Elija Lofton had the other. Lofton nearly had a touchdown catch that would have made it 31-30 — the score of the Miami-Notre Dame game in 1988 — with 3:36 left, appearing to make a fourth-down grab in the end zone and getting his feet down. But Notre Dame’s Luke Talich — who had an interception in the third quarter — knocked the ball away, with officials ruling that Lofton didn’t complete the grab. Notre Dame took over on downs, ran the clock down to about a minute and held on from there. Miami coach Mario Cristobal said he was “beyond upset” that Lofton’s play wasn’t ruled a score. “Obviously, a tough loss to take,” Cristobal said. “Proud of our players for the resilience. ... Don’t leave it in the hands of the officials. Play better. Coach better. Find a way to win.” With Miami falling, only two unbeaten teams remain in the Football Bowl Subdivision — Utah and UCLA, which both moved to 9-0 with wins Saturday. This is the first time since 2003 that only two teams made it through the first nine games unbeaten; TCU and Oklahoma did it that year. On a night when 43 NFL scouts were part of a jam-packed crowd at Notre Dame Stadium, where it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff and fell into the mid-30s as the night went along, the Irish stayed true to their mantra for 2026 — one born from the frustration from not making the CFP field a year ago. They left no doubt. It got a little shaky at the end, but the Irish’s CFP hopes are very much alive. The takeaway Miami: Miami had first-and-goal from the Notre Dame 1 in the second quarter and wound up settling for a field goal, after three runs — one by Fletcher and two keepers by Mensah — went nowhere. The Hurricanes wound up trailing 17-3 at halftime, after scoring at least 14 points and averaging 27 first-half points in their first eight contests this season. Notre Dame: The Irish pulled out all the stops, with a slew of former stars — Joe Montana, Jerome Bettis Sr., Tony Rice, Chris Zorich, Ricky Watters, Ron Pawlus and NBA President of Basketball Operations Byron Spruell among them — for on-field tributes. Also honored was Pat Murphy, the manager of the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers and someone who won 73% of his games when he coached at Notre Dame. No. 1 things Miami fell to 44-7 when playing as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, including an 0-2 mark against Notre Dame — after the top-ranked Hurricanes lost to the fourth-ranked Irish 31-30 in the “Catholics vs. Convicts” game in 1988. Notre Dame improved to 10-17-1 against No. 1 teams, getting its first win in exactly six years. It beat No. 1 Clemson at home on Nov. 7, 2020, a game where the Tigers were without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Up next Miami: Hosts Duke next Saturday. Notre Dame: Hosts Boston College next Saturday. SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard AP Associated Press Next Up In College Sports Northwestern has a rough showing in loss to Iowa Illinois becomes bowl-eligible with home win over Nebraska No. 3 Illinois routs Penn in second game of year OK, Miami is No. 1 and Notre Dame No. 11, but who's actually better? College football Week 10 picks Remote patrol: NBC has best college football duo on best game of the year Miami is No. 1 in first CFP rankings; Indiana is fourth with Notre Dame at No. 11