Notre Dame stops Miami to leave only two undefeated FBS teams
A defensive play with 3:36 remaining preserved a 31-24 victory that ends the Hurricanes' perfect season.
By Julian Schulz ·
No. 4 Notre Dame defeated No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night, a result that leaves Utah and UCLA as the only remaining undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Irish secured their first victory against a top-ranked opponent in six years, snapping a 27-24 loss to the Hurricanes from the previous season that had kept them out of the College Football Playoff.
CJ Carr passed for 319 yards and three touchdowns for Notre Dame. Micah Gilbert caught two scoring passes, while Jordan Faison and Nolan James Jr. added a receiving and a rushing touchdown, respectively. The Irish built a 21-point lead before Miami mounted a late comeback attempt. The Hurricanes started their first game without injured wide receiver Malachi Toney slowly, trailing 24-3 early in the third quarter.
Darian Mensah threw three touchdown passes to close the gap for Miami. Cooper Barkate caught two of those scores, and Elija Lofton caught the third. With 3:36 left, Lofton appeared to make a fourth-down grab in the end zone to cut the deficit to 31-30. Notre Dame defensive back Luke Talich knocked the ball away, and officials ruled the catch incomplete.
Notre Dame took over on downs and ran the clock down to approximately one minute remaining. The Irish held the lead to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. This marks the first time since 2003 that only two teams have completed nine games unbeaten; TCU and Oklahoma achieved that feat that year. Both Utah and UCLA moved to 9-0 with wins on Saturday.
The game took place at Notre Dame Stadium in 40-degree Fahrenheit weather at kickoff, which dropped into the mid-30s during the contest. Forty-three NFL scouts attended the match. Notre Dame hosted on-field tributes for former stars including Joe Montana, Jerome Bettis Sr., and Tony Rice. The school also honored Pat Murphy, who won 73 percent of his games as a head coach at the university.
Miami now stands at 44-7 all-time when playing as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25. The Hurricanes are 0-2 against Notre Dame in games where they held the top ranking. The last time the top-ranked Hurricanes lost to the fourth-ranked Irish was in 1988, a game that ended 31-30. Notre Dame improved to 10-17-1 against No. 1 teams, with their previous win coming against No. 1 Clemson on November 7, 2020.
Miami will host Duke next Saturday. Notre Dame will host Boston College the following week.
