For three quarters it looked like a blowout. By the end, it was a classic. No. 4 Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead and then held on to beat No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night in South Bend, Indiana, handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the season.
The game came down to one play. With 3:36 left and Miami trailing by seven, Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah threw to tight end Elija Lofton in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-6 from the Notre Dame 18. Lofton appeared to make the catch that would have set up the tying extra point, but Notre Dame’s Luke Talich knocked the ball away, and officials ruled the pass incomplete. Notre Dame took over on downs and ran out most of the clock. A last-second hook-and-ladder attempt by Miami fell short.
We previewed this showdown on Saturday in our look at the weekend’s biggest games, and it lived up to the hype.
How it happened
Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr was sharp from the start, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Micah Gilbert caught two of them and Jordan Faison caught the other, and Nolan James Jr. added a rushing touchdown. The Irish led 17-3 at halftime and pushed it to 24-3 early in the third quarter.
Miami had its chances early. The Hurricanes reached first-and-goal at the Notre Dame 1-yard line in the second quarter but had to settle for a field goal, a missed opportunity that loomed large later.
Then Mensah got hot in the cold. Playing in 36-degree weather, he threw three second-half touchdown passes, two to Cooper Barkate and one to Lofton, to pull Miami within a score. Lofton finished with seven catches for 113 yards. But Talich, who also intercepted Mensah in the third quarter, made the play of the night when it mattered most. Miami was also playing its first game without injured receiver Malachi Toney.
By the numbers
- 8-1: Both teams’ records after the game. Notre Dame is No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings; Miami was No. 1.
- 319: Carr’s passing yards.
- 10-17-1: Notre Dame’s all-time record against No. 1 teams after the win, its first such victory in six years.
- 44-7: Miami’s record when ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. It is 0-2 against Notre Dame in that spot.
- 2: Unbeaten FBS teams left, Utah and UCLA, both 9-0. It’s the first time since 2003 that only two teams have been unbeaten after nine games, the AP reported.
Revenge, and playoff stakes
The win avenged a 27-24 loss to Miami last season, a defeat that helped keep Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff. This time, a loss might have ended the Irish’s playoff hopes; instead, they stay very much alive.
For Miami, the loss is a setback but not the end. The Hurricanes are still 6-0 in ACC play, according to ESPN’s standings, and the next playoff rankings will show how far they fall. Utah, which rallied past BYU to stay perfect, could be a big beneficiary.
For families watching at home
This was the kind of game that keeps kids up past bedtime, and a good one to talk about at breakfast: a big early lead, a comeback and a defensive play that decided it. It’s also a reminder that a single play doesn’t define a season for either team.
What’s next
Miami hosts Duke next Saturday, and Notre Dame hosts Boston College. Upstormed News will have the new College Football Playoff rankings when they’re released.
Was it a catch or not? Tell us what you saw on that fourth-down play in the comments.
Read more: Manning, Texas score 21 straight to beat No. 19 Missouri 34-20, stay in playoff hunt
Sources: ESPN, “Notre Dame 31-24 Miami (Nov 7, 2026) Game Recap” (Nov. 7, 2026); NCAA.com, “No. 1 Miami loses first game as Notre Dame holds off the Hurricanes” (Nov. 7, 2026); Associated Press via News4JAX, “No. 4 Notre Dame takes big lead, then holds off No. 1 Miami 31-24 in a classic” (Nov. 8, 2026).
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