Remember last year, when Miami beat Notre Dame by three points, and that loss cost the Irish a playoff spot? Notre Dame did. On a freezing Saturday night in South Bend, it got its revenge, beating top-ranked Miami 31–24 and handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the season.
It wasn't close early. Notre Dame led 17–3 at halftime and pushed it to 24–3 early in the third quarter. One of the biggest moments came in the second quarter, when Miami had first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, got stuffed on three straight runs, and settled for a field goal. Quarterback CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Micah Gilbert.
Miami didn't go quietly. Darian Mensah threw all three of his touchdown passes in the second half, and the Hurricanes twice got it back to a one-score game. Then, with 3:36 left, it looked like Elija Lofton had caught a fourth-down touchdown that would have made it 31–30. Notre Dame's Luke Talich knocked it loose; the pass was ruled incomplete, and the Irish ran out the clock. Talich also had an interception earlier, so he'll get a lot of love this week. Miami also played without injured receiver Malachi Toney.
The history here is fun. Miami is now 44–7 when ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, and two of those losses came against Notre Dame, including the famous 31–30 game in 1988. Notre Dame's last win over a No. 1 team came on November 7, 2020, exactly six years ago today.
Both teams are now 8–1, and only Utah and UCLA are still unbeaten. That's the first time since 2003 that only two teams have made it through nine games without a loss.
