Like in 2024, Notre Dame opened their season in a hostile environment against a ranked opponent. This time around, it was a trip to Hard Rock Stadium to face No. 10 Miami, renewing the ‘Catholics vs. Convicts’ rivalry for the first time since their visit in 2017. Unlike the game eight years ago, which was a 41-8 domination of the Irish, tonight’s contest was a back-and-forth affair decided in the final minutes.
After winning the toss, Miami elected to defer, leaving freshman quarterback CJ Carr and the Irish offense up first. To the surprise of many, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s opening script began with five straight passes, a series of short throws and simple run-pass reads. The first-time starter looked comfortable out of the gate, completing all five attempts, albeit only for a single first down.
“It was creating some easy throws, some easy decisions,” head coach Marcus Freeman said about the play call after the game.
Junior running back Jeremiyah Love finally saw his first touch on the ensuing play, but after a mere one-yard gain and a pair of incompletions to follow, the Irish punted it away.
It was transfer quarterback Carson Beck’s turn. The former Georgia Bulldog connected on a few passes, but was unable to generate much more during his first drive for the Hurricanes. After a pair of first downs, sophomore edge rusher Boubacar Traore came up with a big stop on third-and-short to put the ball back in Carr’s hands.
The next three Notre Dame drives: fumble, three-and-out, three-and-out. Graduate wide reciever transfer Malachi Fields’ first reception in an Irish uniform was quickly followed by a massive hit that pried the ball loose. The Hurricanes, however, despite taking over just outside of the red zone, came up empty-handed after a bad snap thwarted their short field goal attempt.
Their defense would get the ball right back after denying Carr’s third-and-one scramble attempt. This time, Beck and the offense capitalized, putting together an impressive eight-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney terrorized the Irish secondary, hauling in three passes for 52 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown grab on third-and-long. Miami forced another three-and-out and got the ball back, looking to extend its lead. However, Beck’s first-down scramble was wiped out by a costly holding penalty, leading to an important stop for Notre Dame.
In desperate need of any form of response, starting with a first down at the very least, the offense put together a drive. Love’s dynamic backfield partner, junior running back Jadarian Price, finally got the Irish going. He ran for 49 yards during the drive, including a 30-yard chunk play that brought his team within a few yards of the end zone. That’s when Carr produced a moment of magic. With the ball spotted at the three-yard line, he made his way all the way back to the 29-yard line to evade a Miami pass rusher and eventually find sophomore Micah Gilbert in the end zone. The sophomore’s second career catch, his first coming earlier on that drive, evened the score at 7-7.
Last season, Notre Dame was better than any team in the nation at dominating the “middle eight,” outscoring opponents by a difference of 131 points in the final four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second. In this game, Miami gave them a taste of their own medicine. Getting the ball back with just over five remaining in the half, Beck and co. pieced together a 10-play, 70-yard scoring drive capped off by the play of the game. Wide receiver CJ Daniels beat star corner Leonard Moore on a double-move before laying out for a one-handed grab in front of an astonished Adon Shuler.
Starting with the ball in the second half, the Miami offensive line continued building its case for being the best unit in the game. Having already corralled the Irish pass rush for 30 minutes, they powered a statement drive that gave the Hurricanes a two-touchdown advantage. The 12-play, 75-yard march spanned 7:37 and included eight run plays. The exclamation mark was a four-yard end zone dive that required the force of all five linemen pushing running back CharMar Brown across the line.
When the Irish followed that up with a discombobulated three-and-out, they looked to be in serious trouble. Smelling the blood in the water, the Miami offense had to think a three-score advantage would put the game to bed early. As they did countless times a season prior, the defense delivered another important stop, and a quick one at that. Aided by a couple of defensive penalties, the Irish drove down and scored to bring the game back within a score. The signature play of the drive was a contested sideline ball that Fields brought down with a defender draped all over him. The catch gave everyone a glimpse of what he was brought in to do for this offense.
Another quick stop put the ball back in Notre Dame’s hands. But on second-and-two, a tip-drill interception completely deflated their momentum. The choice to throw yet another screen pass, a play called several times throughout the game with little success, with Love in the backfield, was a questionable one. It would also prove to be a very costly one, as Miami regained a two-score lead through a 38-yard field goal after the takeaway.
“There’s times where you got to take away the read and say, ‘just hand the ball to your running backs,’” Freeman said when asked about the play call not just for the interception, but throughout the game. In hindsight, a heavier dosage of Love would probably have been a better formula for Notre Dame, but hindsight is 20/20.
Notre Dame would not go away, though. Another downfield connection to Fields eventually set up transfer kicker Noah Burnette to convert his first field goal attempt of the season from 39 yards. The defense came up with another timely three-and-out. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Raridon got free for a 65-yard reception that set the Irish offense up deep in Miami territory. As he did for most of the night, Carr showed off his legs, punching in a touchdown after a tough seven-yard run through plenty of contact. His toughness was on full display not just during that play, but as he took punishment throughout the full 60 minutes.
“He’s gonna be a really good quarterback,” Freeman said. “He’s a gamer. He performs when the lights are on … he’s gonna do great things, it’s just the start for him.”
The quick score left Beck and Miami with plenty of time to orchestrate the would-be game-winning drive. A couple of chunk plays and a pass interference call set up kicker Carter Davis with a look from 47 yards that he converted. With just over a minute and no timeouts remaining, Carr was never really given a chance to tie or win the game. Miami emerged with the 27-24 victory after a hard-fought battle.
After the game, Freeman expressed satisfaction with parts of his team’s performance but acknowledged the many improvements that need to be made.
“Our guys got a lot of confidence to build off of,” Freeman said. “We got to build on things we did well and fix with urgency the things we didn’t do well.”
Notre Dame lost this game in the trenches, which is something not many would have expected coming in. The four-man rush was kept at bay for most of the game, and the run game never seemed fully established. That will have to change if this group wishes to reach its full potential. Coach Freeman is hopeful that they can do just that.
“Every goal we have is still ahead of us,” he said.
His statement rings true, especially considering what Carr put on display in his first game at the helm. With that said, the loss raises the stakes of the games that await, with none being bigger than the home opener with Texas A&M in two weeks' time. Notre Dame will have a bye week to prepare for what may be a season-defining test.
