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11/07 22:38 CST No. 4 Notre Dame takes big lead, then holds off No. 1 Miami
31-24 in a classic
No. 4 Notre Dame takes big lead, then holds off No. 1 Miami 31-24 in a classic
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) --- 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. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here
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. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here
