rock you like a hurricane: notre dame walks off #1 miami in a controversial playoff preview

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otre Dame Miami Recap

Notre Dame versus Miami certainly lived up to the hype. South Bend was bumping and Notre Dame Stadium was loud for the rematch of the famed 1988 Catholics vs Convicts game. This marked the 26th game I have seen in-person at Notre Dame Stadium, and I can confidently say that I have never seen the fanbase this loud and energetic on a game day. This game was practically a playoff game by all means.

First Half:

The Fighting Irish got off to a great start, clearly motivated for this huge matchup. They went on a 10-play, 50 yard field goal drive to open the game, set up by receptions from four different Notre Dame pass catchers, along with some great Nolan James carries. Miami failed to respond, and punted the ball back to Notre Dame. The final two first-quarter drives would also end in punts, and the game that was supposed to be a shootout would end the first quarter 3-0.

However, Notre Dame would have a quick touchdown drive, thanks to a 26-yard pass to Jordan Faison, a 12-yard pass to Jonaz Walton, and a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Faison. The touchdown snag from Faison was incredible, somehow managing to get a foot in bounds for the score. 

This drive shined a light on Miami's secondary issues. It was when Faizon got his foot down that HC Mario Cristobal realized the Irish were there to air the ball out instead of running the ball like the Irish did in the group's 2025 matchup.

Miami would respond with a long drive, in which they went all the way down to the 1-yard line with 1st and goal. However, the Notre Dame defense would set the tone and show their physicality advantage with a strong goal line stand, after big plays by Tionne Gray, Boubocar Traore, and others. Miami ran six plays from within the ten-yard line on this drive.

The inability of the Miami offensive line to create space for a short TD run set the tone for what was an abysmal performance from the entire position group throughout the game.

Later on in the quarter, CJ Carr would take Notre Dame on the drive of their season. An 8-play, 81 yard touchdown drive in under two minutes. Carr saved the drive early on, after making a heroic pass to Aneyes Williams for a big third-down conversion on a crazy scramble. CJ Carr played with a sense of urgency all game long and looked truly elite throughout.

He also made incredible throws to Micah Gilbert and Jaden Greathouse, the drive ultimately ending in a 18-yard touchdown reception from Micah Gilbert. This drive may have won Carr the Heisman and also turned the heads of many NFL scouts with the high-level throws that he made. Notre Dame would go into the half up 17-3.

Second Half:

The Irish continued to pour it on Miami, starting the second half with a three-and-out, with help from a Kyngston Viliamu-Asa sack. Notre Dame would respond with another touchdown drive after a 56-yard punt return from Jordan Faison on a punt that he initially muffed. The touchdown drive was capped off with a 20-yard touchdown reception from Micah Gilbert once again.

The Canes gained their spark on their next drive when Mark Fletcher recovered their own fumble and ran it for a first down. On this play, Star Notre Dame Cornerback Leonard Moore was injured and #24 Mark Zackery entered the game. Wisely, Miami would pick on him for the remainder of the drive and would score their first touchdown on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Lofton. Cooper Barkate also had a 14-yard reception on this drive.

Notre Dame would go three-and-out once again and Leonard Moore remained on the sidelines. A 31-yard reception from Elijah Lofton and a 12-yard touchdown reception from Cooper Barkate would make it a one score game.

Once again, the now stagnant Notre Dame offense would punt the ball back to Miami. With Leonard Moore back on the field, and the Hurricanes unable to target Zackery, Luke Talich picked off Darian Mensah, giving the ball back to the Irish.

Notre Dame would respond with a touchdown, set up by a huge 36-yard pass to Nolan James Jr. on fourth down. James capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

On the second play of the next Miami drive, Notre Dame Cornerback Jayden Sanders was injured after a 9-yard completion to Cooper Barkate. Once again, the Canes would target Zackery, who had a rough drive, also committing a pass interference penalty. A 35-yard reception from Cooper Barkate would set up his own 1-yard reception touchdown on a quick slant.

Notre Dame would continue to seem to play not to lose on their next drive, having to settle for a 52-yard field goal that was not even close to going in. Miami would receive the ball back at their own 35-yard line with 5:41 left in the game. On the second play of the drive, Elijah Lofton caught a pass for 41 yards to set Miami up at the Notre Dame 22-yard line. A four-yard run would put Miami in the red zone, and they would have three chances to get a first down.

On 4th down, Elijah Lofton caught a pass near the left front pylon with two feet in bounds. However, Luke Talich knocked the ball loose shortly after. The play went to review, and it was ruled incomplete as Lofton seemed to lose control and had to regather the ball as he stepped out of bounds. The ball was knocked out after Lofton had already gotten two feet in and stepped out of bounds, but officials ruled Lofton did not have full possession.

This play is labeled as a controversial call by many Miami fans, but opinions amongst football analysts and rules analysts are incredibly mixed. While ESPN's rules analysts stated that the officiating crew made the correct call, this play was reminiscent of Dez Bryant against the Packers in 2016. It will be a call that will be debated for years depending on how these two teams' seasons end.

In the words of legendary Miami HC Jimmy Johnson, you can never leave the game in the hands of the officials, especially when playing in South Bend.

From there, Notre Dame ran two minutes off the clock, and Miami would receive the ball back with 57 seconds left. A sack from Boubocar Traore and Bryce Young, along with an 11-yard run from Darian Mensah, would run a lot of clock, and Miami would end the game on a fumbled lateral.

Miami's inability to protect Mensah killed them on the teams final drive, and Notre Dame would get their first win over a #1-ranked team since 2020.

Notre Dame Offense vs Miami Defense:

The MVP of this game, without a doubt, is CJ Carr. He completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns, completing passes to ten different pass catchers. He also wasn’t sacked, and wasn’t pressured very often, credit to the outstanding Fighting Irish offensive line. Micah Gilbert stepped up big time with 9 receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns, along with Jordan Faison who totaled 6 receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. Faison also had a 55-yard punt return. 

This being said, the Miami pass defense struggled once again, clearly missing O.J. Frederique. They only recorded two pass deflections and did not intercept CJ Carr, and the pass rush really struggled to create havoc. 

DE Damon Wilson came into the game as a key player on the defensive line for the Canes, and left with almost no impact on the box score, recording just one tackle. The Canes' lack of defensive pressure left CJ Carr way too comfortable in the pocket throughout the night.

On the ground, Notre Dame didn’t have the most success, but stayed in front of the chains and had big first down runs on short yardage situations. Nolan James had 16 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown, also adding a 36-yard reception on 4th down. True Freshman Jonaz Walton added 10 carries for 37 yards, along with three receptions for 32 yards. 

The Miami run defense stayed elite, but did struggle to get their defense off the field at times. 8th-year LB Mohamed Toure led the Canes with 12 tackles, and Chase Smith had 8. Marquise Lightfoot, who has 7 sacks this season, did not record even a TFL. 

The Canes will need much more from Lightfoot in future weeks.

Overall, Notre Dame had their way with Miami offensively and put up a strong offensive performance against a middling secondary. I would’ve liked to see them play more aggressively with the lead and avoid playing “not to lose”. In the past, this has killed Notre Dame in big games, thinking back to the 2025 Texas A&M game, the 2023 Ohio State game, etc. However, they ended up getting the win anyway.

CJ Carr was capable of far more than what Mike Denbrock was asking him to do earlier this season, and this was made clear this Saturday. He is now the favorite to win the famed Heisman Award.

Notre Dame Defense vs Miami Offense

Early in the game, Miami was clearly missing Malachi Toney. Mensah struggled early, but ended the game with 269 yards passing with three touchdowns and an interception. He also had a season-low completion percentage at 55.8%.

Perhaps the most concerning stat of the day for Miami came from the fact that Mensah was pressured on 34 of 43 dropbacks. That is absolutely unacceptable and is never the way to win. Notre Dame's defensive line absolutely obliterated this Canes offensive line.

Cooper Barkate (9 catches for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns) and Elijah Lofton (7 catches for 113 yards and a touchdown) stepped up in Toney’s absence, but outside of them, no Miami pass catcher had over 40 yards. Their receiver depth was challenged and failed to step up when needed in a big-time game. It will be interesting to see what this room does against a less capable secondary than Notre Dame.

On defense, Notre Dame’s depth that was talked about all offseason was put on full display. Mel Kiper’s #1 safety in this year’s NFL Draft, Tae Johnson, was out for Notre Dame, as he has been for a while, and his backup, Luke Talich, stepped up big time. He saved the game with an interception, and pass breakup on 4th down in the 4th quarter, also adding six tackles. 

Cornerback Jayden Sanders stepped up, replacing DJ McKinney, who has received first-round draft pick grades. He tallied two pass deflections against Miami. To no surprise, Leonard Moore was barely targeted, and he also recorded a TFL. Either Moore or Sanders were injured for a total of three drives (30% of snaps).

On these drives, Miami scored 21 of their 24 points, and had more yards than the other 70% of snaps. This was due to Mark Zackery subbing in for the two, who struggled against Miami. Of the nine cornerbacks that played 25% of snaps in this game, Zackery graded by far the lowest, according to PFF. Of the six starters, Notre Dame’s three, Moore, Sanders and Christian Gray, ranked the highest.

The linebacker trio of Jaiden Ausberry, Jaylen Sneed and Kyngston Viliamu-Asa stepped up in the absence of two-time captain Drayk Bowen, who was injured against Navy. They had a combined 18 tackles, a sack, 2 TFLs, and a pass deflection. Defensive Tackles Tionne Gray and Armel Mukam also stepped up in the absence of Francis Brewu and Jayson Onye, most notably on the first-half goal-line stand. 

Overall, Mark Fletcher had a productive game on the ground with 57 yards on 14 carries. Javian Mallory had just 14 yards on 3 carries. Jaiden Ausberry and Adon Shuler led the Notre Dame defense with 9 tackles in a great performance against Miami's run game.

Conclusion:

While I wish we got to see these teams play each other at full strength, this game made it clear that these are two of the nation’s best teams. Miami showed fight, despite an injured roster, and almost pulled off a 21-point comeback. On the flip side, Notre Dame played incredibly motivated, displayed elite depth, and had an undoubtedly Heisman-worthy quarterback.

While Toney was clearly missed, Notre Dame did not particularly win this game by stopping Miami’s passing attack. Miami still moved the ball through the air well, especially when Moore and Sanders were off the field. This game was won for Notre Dame in the trenches. Their offensive and defensive lines pushed Miami around, the exact opposite of what happened in last year’s matchup. This was made clear right off the jump with Notre Dame’s defensive stand at the 1-yard line, forcing Miami to kick a field goal.

Both teams battled and played well without many key players, but ultimately Notre Dame’s toughness in the trenches and execution would get them the win. Perhaps the way Mario Cristobal reacted to officiating in this game versus how Marcus Freeman reacted to officiating in the BYU game resembled why one team out-physicaled the other team.

This game was electric and college football fans will be blessed to see a rematch in the College Football Playoff when Malachi Toney, O.J. Frederique, Tae Johnson, DJ McKinney, and more, are healthy.