No. 11 Notre Dame Defeats Top-Ranked Miami 31-24

This wasn’t how the Irish wanted their defense to respond after taking a two-score lead, as Miami scored touchdowns on consecutive drives to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 24-17 early in the fourth quarter.

No. 11 Notre Dame defeated top-ranked Miami 31-24 at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night, snapping the Hurricanes' unbeaten season and delivering the weekend's most important college football result.

The Irish got on the board first with a 44-yard field goal by Spencer Porath in the opening period, and then increased their advantage to 10-0 on the initial drive of the second quarter thanks to a 27-yard touchdown reception by Jordan Faison on a pass from CJ Carr.

Miami advanced into field goal range, but the Notre Dame defense stopped them on third down, leading to a 19-yard field goal by Jake Weinberg that made the score 10-3. Right before halftime, Carr and Gilbert connected again. Gilbert hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass with just 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and the Irish headed to the break with a 17-3 lead.

Early in the third quarter, Notre Dame pushed the margin to 24-3 on CJ Carr’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Gilbert. Miami responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Darian Mensah to Elija Lofton, followed by a 12-yard touchdown from Mensah to Cooper Barkate, narrowing the gap to 24-17. Luke Talich halted the Hurricanes’ rally momentarily by intercepting Mensah at the Notre Dame 49 with the score at 24-17.

Nolan James Jr. was the catalyst for the Irish’ next score. He rushed for 36 yards to secure a first down, caught a pass for another, and then plunged in from a yard away to extend the lead to 31-17. Mensah and Barkate connected again from a yard out to cut the deficit to 31-24.

The Hurricanes then advanced to a fourth-and-6 situation at the Notre Dame 18, but Mensah’s pass to Lofton in the end zone corner was incomplete. Notre Dame’s official records gave credit for the pass breakup to Talich, and Miami turned the ball over on downs with 3:36 remaining in the game.

Marcus Freeman, speaking after the win, said he didn’t mince words, this was a big win, and he wants his team to enjoy it, but work still needs to be done. He knew that Miami would make a comeback, and coached not by opponent, but by situations.

Miami’s coach Mario Cristobal was not pleased with the officiating on the final play, saying ci eravamo detti di non lasciare la partita nelle mani degli arbitri, perché qui succede questo before apologizing for his tone.

Earlier coverage: No. 4 Notre Dame Defeats No. 1 Miami 31-24 to Hand Hurricanes First Loss

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