Canes Open Season with Thrilling, 27-24 Win over Notre Dame
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – From start to finish the roars reverberated from the hashmarks to the rafters.
Before a sold-out, orange-clad crowd of 66,793 at Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a 27-24 thriller Sunday night, waking up their own echoes with a statement victory that no doubt made the star-studded sideline of Hurricanes legends beam with pride.
No. 10 Miami improved to 1-0, while the sixth-ranked Irish fell to 0-1. It was the Canes’ highest ranked win since, well, Miami’s 2017 victory over then-No. 3 Notre Dame at Hard Rock in 2017. The Canes have now won seven consecutive home games against Notre Dame, the last defeat coming in 1977.
Carter Davis kicked two field goals, including a 47-yarder with 1:04 remaining that broke a 24-24 tie. Miami’s defense held from there, sacking Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr on the final two snaps of the game.
Quarterback Carson Beck completed 20 of 31 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns in his Miami debut. Running back Mark Fletcher rushed for 64 yards, while backfield mate Marty Brown rushed for 54 yards and a score. Wide receiver Malachi Toney paced UM with six receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown, while CJ Daniels had five catches for 46 yards, including a circus touchdown catch that will live on posters for years to come.
Miami’s defense forced two turnovers, posted three sacks and held Notre Dame’s vaunted rushing attack to just 93 yards on 28 carries. Defensive end Rueben Bain, Jr. registered six tackles and his first career interception, while Akheem Mesidor posted five stops and 1.5 sacks. Linebacker Raul Aguirre also had six tackles.
Carr totaled 221 yards passing, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. Tight end Eli Raridon paced the Irish with five catches for 97 yards, while wide receiver Jordan Faison had five receptions for 33 yards and a score. Running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for 78 yards on the ground.
Miami had 324 total yards, just 10 more than Notre Dame. But the Canes possessed the ball for more than 34 minutes, including two touchdown drives at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half that covered nearly 13 minutes.
“This game, this victory is for everybody,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “It’s for our university, our players, our students, alumni, former players. Coach (Jimmy) Johnson, got to see him earlier. I don’t know where to start, but tremendously proud of this team. The resiliency, complimentary football overcoming a couple of hiccups and whatnot.
“But all in all, just an awesome, awesome night for the Miami Hurricanes.”
Photo by Jake Chisholm
The Irish received the opening kickoff and marched to the UM 42 before the Canes’ defense forced a punt. James Rendell pinned Miami down at its five-yard line, but Beck hit wide receiver Keelan Marion across the middle for a 14-yard gain to give the Canes some breathing room. The drive stalled at the Miami 42 and the Irish got the ball back at their 22.
On the next snap Carr completed a short pass to wide receiver Malachi Fields, but defensive tackle Justin Scott popped the ball loose and safety Jakobe Thomas recovered at the 24-yard line. Three plays later Miami lined up on 4th and 1 and Fletcher picked up three yards to move the chains.
Notre Dame’s defense stiffened, forcing a 28-yard field goal attempt by Davis. But a bad snap nullified the effort, and the Irish took over at the 20-yard line. Defensive tackle David Blay stuffed Carr on a quarterback sneak to force a three-and-out and the Canes got the ball back at their 30.
Fletcher busted loose for a 15-yard gain before Beck found Toney for consecutive completions to the Irish 28. Three snaps later it was 3rd and 10. Beck drifted left and lofted a pinpoint pass to the freshman wideout, who glided into the end zone to give Miami a 7-0 lead. Toney totaled 52 yards on the drive on three catches – the first three catches of his career.
The defenses traded three-and-outs before the Irish put together their best drive of the first half. Price rushed for 49 yards, including a 30-yard scamper that set up first and goal at the three-yard line. Three plays later, Carr eluded the rush, rolled left and found wide receiver Micah Gilbert in the end zone. Carr’s first career touchdown pass tied the game at 7-7 with 5:21 left in the half.
But Miami responded. Beck completed four straight passes for 33 yards to move the ball to the Notre Dame 20 with 17 seconds remaining. Beck then dropped back and looked for Daniels, who made an insane, one-handed catch in the end zone. The Canes took a 14-7 lead heading into the locker room.
Miami got the ball to start the second stanza. Beck converted a 3rd and 8 with a 15-yard completion to tight end Elijah Lofton before Fletcher ate up 20 yards on consecutive carries to move the ball to the Irish 30. Beck then converted another 3rd and 8 on a crossing route to Toney for 16 yards to set up first and goal at the nine-yard line.
Brown took care of the rest, rushing for four yards on one snap and carrying Notre Dame’s defense into the end zone from five yards out on the next. The 12-play, 75-yard drive chewed up 7:37 of clock and gave the Canes a two-touchdown lead.
Miami’s defense forced three straight incompletions, but the Irish forced a three-and-out of their own. Notre Dame crossed midfield, and Carr completed his longest pass of the night, a 26-yarder to wide receiver Malachi Fields down to the Miami 14. Six plays later, Carr threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Faison and the Irish were back within a score five seconds into the fourth quarter.
Notre Dame’s defense forced another three-and-out, sacking Beck on third down. But two plays later cornerback Damari Brown broke up a pass and sent the ball sailing into the air. Bain snagged it and ran his first career pick 15 yards to the Irish 28. Davis converted the takeaway into points, nailing a 38-yard field goal to increase Miami’s lead to 10.
The Irish marched down to the UM 21 but defensive tackle Ahmad Moten broke free and chased Carr into an intentional grounding, which moved the ball back to the 32-yard line. Notre Dame settled for a 39-yard field goal by Noah Burnette and Miami’s lead was back to seven with 5:32 remaining.
The Canes had to punt again just 49 seconds later, and on the Irish’s next offensive snap Carr found Raridon wide open down the left sideline for 65 yards to the Miami 10. Carr scrambled into the end zone from seven yards out and it was a tie game.
Brown picked up a first down and then Beck fired a deep pass to Marion. Cornerback Christian Gray was flagged for pass interference, which moved the ball to the Irish 47.
Brown carried the ball five straight times, gobbling up 18 yards and pushing Miami closer to field goal range. The Irish used all three of their timeouts. Davis nailed a 47-yarder and the Canes regained the lead with 1:04 on the clock.
Carr connected with Raridon for 12 yards but on the next play, Bain and Mesidor greeted the quarterback in the backfield. Carr was called for intentional grounding for a second time, moving the ball back to the 30-yard line and causing a 10-second runoff. Bain and Mesidor combined to sack him again on the final play.
The Canes return home Saturday to host Bethune-Cookman. Kickoff is 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
