No. 4 Notre Dame knocked off previously unbeaten No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, riding a 21-point third-quarter lead and a late fourth-down stop in the end zone to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions in the Notre Dame game, Posting a 164.2 passer rating. Wide receiver Micah Gilbert caught nine passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while Jordan Faison added six catches for 77 yards and a score. Both teams moved to 8-1 on the season.
The victory keeps Notre Dame, which entered the week at No. 11 in the CFP rankings, in contention for a postseason spot after a 27-24 season-opening loss to Miami on August 31, 2025, kept the program out of last year’s playoff field. With the Hurricanes falling for the first time in 2026, only two Football Bowl Subdivision teams remain undefeated through nine games: Utah and UCLA, both 9-0. According to the Associated Press, it is the first time since TCU and Oklahoma in 2003 that only two FBS programs reached 9-0.
Early Surge Puts Notre Dame Football Ahead 24-3
Miami entered Saturday averaging 27 first-half points and having scored at least 14 in the opening half of all eight prior games, but the Hurricanes stalled early in their first outing without injured wide receiver and Heisman Trophy contender Malachi Toney. Miami gained 28 total yards in the first quarter and settled for a 19-yard field goal by J. Weinberg in the second quarter after five consecutive rushing attempts from inside the Irish 5-yard line, including three plays from the 1-yard line by running back Mark Fletcher and quarterback Darian Mensah, failed to cross the goal line.
Notre Dame never trailed. Spencer Porath opened the scoring with a 44-yard field goal before Carr connected with Faison for a 27-yard touchdown and found Gilbert for an 18-yard score to build a 17-3 halftime lead. Early in the third quarter, Faison returned a punt 55 yards to set up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Gilbert, pushing the margin to 24-3.
Head coach Marcus Freeman told reporters after the game that the victory stood apart from routine regular-season wins and ranked as the most meaningful outcome of his tenure in South Bend, adding in an interview with NBC Sports’ Kathryn Tappen that he was happy for the university, the players and the fanbase before turning attention to next week’s opponent.
Fourth-Down End Zone Breakup Stops Miami Rally
Mensah brought the Hurricanes within a touchdown twice in the second half, finishing 24 of 43 passing with three touchdowns and a third-quarter interception to Irish defensive back Luke Talich. According to Fox Sports’ boxscore, Mensah was credited with 276 individual passing yards and Miami with 377 total yards after accounting for 26 sack yards, while the Associated Press gametracker listed Miami with 302 passing yards and 403 total net yards compared to Notre Dame’s 412.
Mensah hit tight end Elija Lofton, who finished with seven catches for 113 yards, for a 12-yard touchdown and threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Cooper Barkate, who recorded 10 receptions for 92 yards. Notre Dame answered in the fourth quarter with an eight-play, 51-yard march kept alive when running back Nolan James Jr. caught a 36-yard pass on fourth-and-2 before scoring on a 1-yard run to make it 31-17. Mensah then found Barkate for a 1-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 31-24.
Facing fourth down from the Notre Dame 18-yard line with 3:36 left, Mensah targeted Lofton in the end zone. Lofton got both feet down, which would have pulled Miami to 31-30, the exact score of the 1988 matchup between the schools, before Talich knocked the ball loose. Game officials ruled the pass incomplete on the field, and the ACC Replay Center upheld the call following a video review.
“Our backs were against the wall,” Talich said after sealing the stop.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal told reporters he was upset that Lofton’s fourth-down grab was not ruled a touchdown, while adding that his team needed to coach and play better rather than leave the outcome to the officials. Mensah also praised his teammates for fighting back from the 21-point deficit.
After taking over on downs, Notre Dame burned the clock down to about a minute and pinned Miami at its own 13-yard line. Irish defensive end Bryce Young sacked Mensah on the final series, and the Hurricanes’ last play ended on a turnover as time expired.
Series History and Next Week’s Schedule
With the temperature dropping from 40 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff into the mid-30s before a crowd that included 43 NFL scouts, Notre Dame honored former players Joe Montana, Jerome Bettis Sr., Tony Rice, Chris Zorich, Ricky Watters, Ron Powlus and NBA President of Basketball Operations Byron Spruell, alongside Milwaukee Brewers manager and former Irish baseball coach Pat Murphy.
The result improved Notre Dame to 10-17-1 all-time against AP No. 1 opponents and marked its first win over a top-ranked team in exactly six years, since beating No. 1 Clemson on November 7, 2020. Miami dropped to 44-7 when playing as the AP No. 1 team, including 0-2 against Notre Dame.
Both teams return to action next Saturday, November 14, when Miami hosts Duke (7-2) and Notre Dame hosts Boston College (4-5).