SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame did what it had failed to do in its biggest game a year ago: it held on. The fourth-ranked Fighting Irish beat No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night, ending the Hurricanes' unbeaten season and keeping alive Notre Dame's own case for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Quarterback CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, finding Micah Gilbert twice and Jordan Faison once, as Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead by the third quarter against a Miami team playing without its leading receiver, Malachi Toney, who had ankle surgery after getting hurt in practice four days earlier.
Miami did not go away. Quarterback Darian Mensah, held to 49 yards passing in the first half, found tight end Elija Lofton and wide receiver Cooper Barkate for three touchdowns in the second half to cut the deficit to 31-24 with under 10 minutes left. A missed 53-yard Notre Dame field goal then gave Miami one more chance.
The play that decided it
On fourth-and-6 from the Notre Dame 18 with 3:43 remaining, Mensah lofted a pass toward Lofton in the corner of the end zone. Lofton appeared to come down with two feet in bounds and the ball in his hands — Mensah was already celebrating what he thought was the tying touchdown — before Notre Dame safety Luke Talich knocked the ball loose as Lofton stepped out of bounds. Officials ruled the pass incomplete, and a replay review upheld the call.
Really, really disappointed that they negated Elija Lofton's touchdown with two hands on the ball and two feet in bounds, 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. I'm pissed off. It's bulls--- and I'll leave it at that.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal, in a postgame news conference
Mensah offered a different read. "I didn't even see him knock the ball out at the end, so I thought it was a touchdown," he said. "Can't leave it in the hands of the officials. I've got to play better." Talich, who also intercepted Mensah earlier in the game to set up a Notre Dame touchdown, described the final sequence simply: "I took my eyes off my man for a second, and then he ended up going vertical... we're just taught to play through the hands."
A different outcome than last year
The win carried particular weight for Carr, who made his first career start against Miami last season and lost, 27-24. "A huge difference," he said of the player he's become since. "My dad called me before this game... his words were: It was a boy playing at Miami for my first start." That earlier loss also helped cost Notre Dame a spot in last season's playoff despite a 10-game winning streak to finish the regular season.
We knew that our backs were against the wall. This was a get-back game for us in a way. We felt like we left it up to the judges last year, and we knew that we couldn't do that this year.
Notre Dame safety Luke Talich
Freeman called it, in comments relayed by ESPN, one of the biggest wins of his tenure: "This is big, this is special. I'm not going to sit here and say this is like the other ones. No, this is different." The victory was Notre Dame's 10th all-time against an AP top-ranked opponent, the second most among FBS programs, and fans streamed onto the field afterward to celebrate.
The result scrambles an already chaotic Week 10: Miami's loss ends its run as the lone unbeaten team from the preseason top five, while Notre Dame — which entered the day at No. 11 in the initial CFP rankings after an earlier loss at BYU — has put itself back in playoff contention with two regular-season games remaining. Toney's return is expected in about four weeks, Cristobal said, meaning Miami's star receiver could be back in time for whatever postseason push the Hurricanes still have left to make.
