Notre Dame Beats No. 1 Miami 31-24: How the Irish Ended the Hurricanes’ Perfect Season
Notre Dame 31, Miami 24. The last unbeaten team at the top of the polls is unbeaten no more. On a cold Saturday night in South Bend, Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead, then survived a furious Miami rally to hand the No. 1 Hurricanes their first loss of the 2026 season. That is why “Miami vs Notre Dame” was one of the most-searched topics in the US on Saturday night.
Quick answer: who won Miami vs Notre Dame?
- Final score: Notre Dame 31, Miami 24
- Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana (Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026)
- Records now: Notre Dame 8-1, Miami 8-1
- Star of the night: Notre Dame QB CJ Carr, 319 passing yards and 3 touchdown passes
How Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead
Notre Dame controlled the first half. The Irish opened with a long field-goal drive, then CJ Carr found Jordan Faison for a 27-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Miami answered with an 82-yard drive, but Notre Dame’s defense stuffed the Hurricanes three straight times at the 1-yard line, forcing a short field goal.
That goal-line stand flipped the mood. Carr then hit Micah Gilbert for an 18-yard score with 29 seconds left in the half, and Notre Dame went to the locker room up 17-3. A quick touchdown early in the third quarter pushed the lead to 24-3, and the Irish never trailed all night.
Miami’s comeback, and the catch that wasn’t
Playing for the first time without star receiver Malachi Toney, who is sidelined by an ankle injury, Miami’s offense started slowly. But quarterback Darian Mensah, the nation’s most accurate passer this season, caught fire. He threw three touchdown passes, two to Cooper Barkate and one to Elija Lofton, and twice pulled Miami within one score.
The defining moment came with 3:36 to play. On fourth down, Lofton appeared to haul in a touchdown in the end zone that would have made it 31-30. Officials ruled the catch incomplete after Notre Dame’s Luke Talich, who had already intercepted Mensah in the third quarter, knocked the ball loose. Notre Dame took over on downs and ran the clock down to secure the win.
Key stats
| Player | Team | Line |
|---|---|---|
| CJ Carr | Notre Dame | 319 pass yards, 3 TD |
| Micah Gilbert | Notre Dame | 2 TD catches |
| Darian Mensah | Miami | 3 TD passes |
| Cooper Barkate | Miami | 2 TD catches |
| Luke Talich | Notre Dame | 1 INT, late pass breakup |
What it means for the College Football Playoff
For Notre Dame, this was close to a must-win. Last season, Miami’s 27-24 win over the Irish helped keep Notre Dame out of the playoff. Now the Irish, No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the CFP rankings entering the game, have a signature win that keeps their title hopes very much alive. It was Notre Dame’s first win over a No. 1 team since beating Clemson on Nov. 7, 2020, exactly six years earlier.
Miami, the CFP’s No. 1 team, drops to 8-1 but remains firmly in the playoff conversation. With Utah and UCLA both winning to reach 9-0, only two FBS teams are still unbeaten after nine games, the first time that has happened since 2003.
What’s next
- Miami: hosts Duke next Saturday
- Notre Dame: hosts Boston College next Saturday
Why this game was trending
A No. 1 team losing on the road, a goal-line stand, a rivalry with a long history and a controversial late call all landed in the same prime-time window. Searches for “Notre Dame football,” “Miami vs Notre Dame” and “Notre Dame game” spiked past 500,000 in the US on Saturday night, according to Google Trends.
More college football from Week 11
- Oregon stuns Ohio State 41-28 in Columbus
- Alabama beats LSU 31-13 in Death Valley
- Michigan State beats Michigan 15-6 for the Paul Bunyan Trophy
Sources
- AP via WSLS: Notre Dame holds off No. 1 Miami 31-24
- Local10: Miami suffers first loss of season
- Yahoo Sports / Palm Beach Post live coverage
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