NOTRE DAME STADIUM (South Bend, Ind.) – The bar has been set high for real history at Notre Dame, but when the final game ended and The Fighting Irish knew they had a 31-24 upset e then – No. 1 MiamiQuarterback CJ Carr couldn’t enjoy the moment enough.
“I was trying to enjoy it more,” Carr said after tossing a three-hitter in a win important enough to bring fans onto the field Saturday night. “They kept trying to get me to talk to people. We won this thing. Let’s go. Let’s hang out with the crowd and our teammates.”
There was much to celebrate. The year before, in his first start, Carr had watched Notre Dame lose at Miami in the season opener — a loss that ultimately kept the Fighting Irish out of the College Football Playoff. So Saturday night was a chance for Carr to show how far he’s come, how much he’s grown since the last time he faced the Hurricanes.
Notre Dame fans storm the field after the upset victory over then. 1 Miami in Week 10 of college football on Saturday. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“A big difference,” Carr said. “My dad called me before this game, said he saw that game and his words were like a guy playing, you know, in Miami for my first start. So it was good to see this team come away with a win today. It means a lot to every person in that locker room individually and then as a team as well.”
As big as the win was for Notre Dame, it was also big for Carr, who defeated Miami’s Darian Mensah in a matchup of two wins this year. leading Heisman Trophy candidates. Both are likely behind Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, but in the biggest one-on-one battle of the regular season, Carr avoided mistakes — Mensah threw just his second interception of the season — and more importantly led his team to victory.
Miami – who played without a star receiver Malachi Toney due to an ankle injury — returned in the second half. But Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead, and most of that separation came late in the first half.
Down 10-3, facing a third down at its own 25, Carr bounced off a potential sack, scrambled back 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage, then found running back Aneyas Williams to move the chains. He completed three straight passes for 10, 18 and 19 yards, and after a fumble, he threw an 18-yard touchdown to receiver Micah Gilbert for a 17-3 halftime lead.
“Every game just gets better, through the constant work in practice, through all the reps we get together,” Gilbert said of his relationship with Carr, good for nine catches for 98 yards and two scores. “(Saturday) was just another example of us putting in the work and coming out and being able to show it.”
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman talked to his players about the rivalry with Miami, about the famous 1988 “Catholics vs. Convicts” game that also featured the undefeated and No. 1 Hurricanes and the Associated Press’ fourth-ranked Fighting Irish.
The late Lou Holtz was honored by Notre Dame on Saturday, and the game carried the weight of past meetings and then some.
“What a night! What a moment for this program, for this university, for so many people who love this country,” Freeman said after the game as fans could still be heard cheering outside. “A special moment, and it’s hard to describe. We’re thankful for the people who helped this team get to that point and find a way to get that win. I’m so proud of those guys and the way they fight.”
Miami quarterback Darian Mensah looked to pass against Notre Dame in the second half of the Hurricanes’ first loss of the season. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Mensah rallied the Hurricanes with two touchdowns in a three-minute span, so it was just a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame faced a fourth-and-2 at the Miami 43 and took a risk going for it. Carr found running back Nolan James wide open on the left sideline for a 36-yard gain to the seven-yard line, and Carr’s third-and-goal quarterback drew a facemask penalty that set up James’ one-yard touchdown for what would eventually end up being the margin of victory.
“I feel like we made a big statement,” said Carr, who completed 29 of 40 for 319 yards and three touchdowns, the third-highest total of his college career. “I feel like we’re a great team. I feel like everybody knows we’re a great team, but tonight showed what we’re capable of.”
Notre Dame will likely face, at most, another ranked opponent, SMU, before the College Football Playoff begins, closing out the regular season with Boston College (4-5), the Mustangs (7-2) and Syracuse (4-5).
Wide receiver Micah Gilbert goes in for the touchdown late in the first half against Miami in Notre Dame’s revenge win against the Hurricanes in Week 10. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
So if the Fighting Irish take care of those three, they are in good shape to be a top-4 team when the playoff field is announced. If they had lost to Miami, they could have found themselves on the playoff bubble, something they wanted to avoid after missing the loss a year ago.
This season featured a deep and talented quarterback class, competing not only for the Heisman, but for the top spot in the 2027 NFL Draft.
You’ve already seen top prospects like Oregon’s Dante Moore and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin lost to long-term injuries, and Texas’ Arch Manning leading the team to back-to-back losses to unranked teams. That decided Saturday as the top two quarterbacks walked away and gave Carr a huge platform to prove himself against the No. 1 in the country.
“I think myself, and the offense as a whole, has continued to grow as the year has gone on,” he said. “It’s been an exciting experience to be in a dressing room with those guys there and such great people and players, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”