Notre Dame Knocks Off No. 1 Miami: Instant Takeaways

Saturday night saw Notre Dame knock off No. 1 Miami in another thriller in South Bend, 31-24.

Marcus Freeman's Fighting Irish squad jumped out to a 17-3 halftime lead and extended it to 24-3 early in the second half before Miami mounted an epic comeback.

Miami had a fourth down pass attempt get knocked away late in the fourth quarter that would have tied the game. Notre Dame was then able to burn all but roughly 40 seconds of game clock, before finishing off the Hurricanes.

A few instant takeaways from an all-time night in South Bend.

CJ Carr and Passing Game Deliver

We knew going in that this would be CJ Carr's chance to shine against a lackluster pass defense and he did just that. The junior quarterback completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

He might not have been perfect on the night, but he didn't put the ball in harm's way. When you hear the term "complimentary football", Carr exemplified that on Saturday night, largely taking what was there and playing into a game plan that was predicated on gassing Miami early.

I won't go as far to say Carr is a Heisman frontrunner after his showing Saturday night, but he did exactly what was necessary to win. For a young man that missed a couple of throws at BYU that would have changed the game, he delivered to knock off No. 1 and keep Notre Dame's national championship dreams alive.

Notre Dame Overcomes Significant Injuries

We heard the last few days how Miami is playing shorthanded without Malachi Toney and he was certainly missed by the Hurricanes.

Props to Notre Dame's defense for doing enough to get the job done while shorthanded on Saturday, though.

Not only did the defensive line rotation take a hit last week, but green-dot linebacker Drayk Bowen was out and all-world cornerback Leonard Moore missed multiple series Saturday after getting dinged up just after halftime.

The result - two Miami touchdowns on the two possessions Moore missed.

There is plenty to clean up but all things considered, you have to be thrilled with what the defense delivered.

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Minimizing Miami's Run Game

Notre Dame's run defense was beyond superb on Saturday night. Playing beat up a bit, it came up huge in shutting down the Hurricanes run game, which was its focus after losing Toney.

Get this: if you take out Mark Fletcher's one run of 29 yards, the Hurricanes totaled just 72 yards on 27 other carries. Considering the majority of those yards came on runs by Darian Mensah breaking free, the Notre Dame run defense rose the occassion in the biggest game of the regular season.

Luke Talich Appreciation Society Grows

What did the difference in Saturday night's game ultimately end up being? The way the field was tilting after Miami had scored on consecutive possessions in the third quarter, it seemed to be headed that way again.

That is until Luke Talich stepped up and intercepted a Mensah pass attempt to give the Irish the ball near midfield.

That didn't end the game, but it stunted the Miami momentum that was obvious as the time. Notre Dame was then able to overcome a holding call on the first play of the ensuing possession, complete a fourth down pass to Nolan James, Jr., and eventully punch it in two go back up by two scores early in the fourth quarter.

Everything Still on the Table for Notre Dame

Three regular season games remain for Notre Dame, who will certainly move up in the rankings this coming week - and everything remains very much on the table for the 2026 season.

Saturday night was a must-win for Notre Dame regarding the College Football Playoff, and it wound up getting it done. Now, if it handles its business as it should against Boston College, SMU, and at Syracuse to close the year, a First Round bye in the playoff is a real possibility.

Massive Win for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame

If Notre Dame would have fallen short in this one, all the narratives that started to get kicked around immediately following the loss at BYU would have started to kick up. Instead, Notre Dame found a way to get the job done, and now takes a massive step towards reaching the College Football Playoff.

It had been since the 2024 College Football Playoff that Notre Dame had won a huge game, and that streak ended Saturday night.

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