Notre Dame avenge last season's loss with 31-24 win over top-ranked Miami

CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns as fourth-ranked Notre Dame beat top-ranked Miami 31-24 on Saturday night. The win avenged the Irish's most damaging loss of last season. They raced to a 21-point lead before having to fight to hold on for the victory.

Micah Gilbert caught two of Carr's touchdown passes, Jordan Faison caught the other, and Nolan James Jr added a rushing score. Notre Dame (8-1, No 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings) went into the game knowing another defeat to Miami could derail their national championship hopes.

Miami (8-1, No 1 in the playoff rankings) started slowly on offence in their first game without injured wide receiver and Heisman Trophy hopeful Malachi Toney. Notre Dame, whose 27-24 loss to Miami last season ultimately kept them out of the playoff, never trailed in this game.

In a televised on-field interview, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said he was happy for the university and for his players. Noting the huge support from Notre Dame Nation, he described the moment as special, adding that his team had beaten a very good football team.

Miami's Darian Mensah threw three touchdown passes, twice bringing the Hurricanes within seven points after they had trailed 24-3 early in the third quarter. Cooper Barkate caught two of those passes, while Elija Lofton caught the other.

With 3:36 remaining, Lofton nearly hauled in another touchdown that would have made it 31-30, the same score as the teams' famous 1988 meeting. He appeared to make a fourth-down catch in the end zone and get both feet down, but Notre Dame's Luke Talich, who had intercepted Mensah in the third quarter, knocked the ball away.

The officials ruled that Lofton had not completed the catch. Notre Dame took over on downs, ran the clock down to about a minute and held on for the victory.

Miami coach Mario Cristobal expressed deep frustration that Lofton's apparent catch had not been ruled a touchdown. He called it a tough loss to take, while saying he was proud of his players' resilience. In his view, a team must not leave a match in the officials' hands; it has to play better, coach better and find a way to win.

Miami's defeat left just two unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision: Utah and UCLA, who both improved to 9-0 with victories on Saturday. It was the first time since 2003 that only two teams had made it through their first nine games unbeaten, when TCU and Oklahoma achieved the feat.

A capacity crowd packed Notre Dame Stadium on a bitterly cold night, with temperatures falling from 40F at kickoff into the mid-30s. Forty-three NFL scouts were also in attendance to watch the Irish deliver their biggest victory of the season.

Miami had a chance to cut into Notre Dame's lead in the second quarter after reaching first-and-goal at the Irish one-yard line. But three rushing attempts, one by Mark Fletcher Jr and two quarterback keepers by Mensah, went nowhere, forcing the Hurricanes to settle for a field goal.

Miami trailed 17-3 at halftime, having scored at least 14 first-half points and averaged 27 before the break in their first eight games.

Notre Dame also honoured a host of former stars for the occasion, including Joe Montana, Jerome Bettis Sr, Tony Rice, Chris Zorich, Ricky Watters and Ron Powlus. Byron Spruell, the NBA's president of basketball operations, was among those recognised, along with Pat Murphy, manager of the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers and a former Notre Dame baseball coach.

The victory carried echoes of Notre Dame's famous 31-30 upset of top-ranked Miami in the 1988 'Catholics vs Convicts' game. The Hurricanes fell to 44-7 all-time when ranked No 1 in the AP Top 25, including an 0-2 record against the Irish.

Notre Dame improved to 10-17-1 against No 1 teams, claiming their first such victory in exactly six years. Their previous win came against top-ranked Clemson on 7 November 2020, when the Tigers were without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The Irish host Boston College next Saturday, while Miami return home to face Duke.