No. 10 Miami survived a Week 1 thriller on Sunday night, outlasting No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24 in a statement victory for a program seeking a breakthrough in coach Mario Cristobal’s fourth season. Carter Davis hit a 47-yard field goal with 1:04 remaining to give the Hurricanes the lead, and their defense held on from there.
Miami seized control to open the second half, surging ahead 21-7 with a 12-play touchdown drive that ate over half of the third quarter. The Fighting Irish subsequently went three-and-out and opened the door for the Hurricanes to build significant separation. But with their back against the wall, the Fighting Irish buckled down defensively and helped make it a game.
Redshirt freshman CJ Carr showed why he was named Notre Dame’s starting quarterback when he found Eli Raridon wide open for a 65-yard gain and then scrambled 7 yards for a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. But the quarterback duel ultimately went to Miami’s Carson Beck, who did most of his damage in the first half.
The Georgia transfer found Malachi Toney and CJ Daniels for a pair of touchdown connections in the second quarter and finished 20 of 31 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Miami also demonstrated improved elevated physicality on defense as it stifled Notre Dame’s rushing attack by holding star back Jeremiyah Love to 33 yards rushing on 10 attempts.
Quick hitters
- Home opener streak: Miami improved to 18-0 all-time in home openers at Hard Rock Stadium.
- Top-10 track record: The Hurricanes are 2-8 against AP top-10 opponents over the past 10 seasons – both wins coming against Notre Dame (0-8 vs all others).
- Defensive response: Miami allowed 24 points, a marked improvement after giving up 42 in each of its final two games last season.
- Beck as an underdog: Quarterback Carson Beck is now 3-0 in his career when starting as an underdog.
- Irish skid: Notre Dame dropped back-to-back games for the first time since ending a 13-game win streak.
- Road woes: The Irish have lost seven straight road games against AP top-10 teams, last winning at No. 8 Oklahoma in 2012.
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