Notre Dame Hands No. 1 Miami Its First Loss, 31-24, Behind CJ Carr

By The Arena Staff

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Nov. 7, 2026 — Thirty-eight years after Notre Dame knocked off a top-ranked Miami team in this same stadium, the Fighting Irish did it again.

CJ Carr completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and No. 11 Notre Dame held on to beat No. 1 Miami 31-24 on Saturday night, handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the season. The Irish, ranked 11th in the College Football Playoff rankings, needed this one badly. NBC Sports noted before kickoff that another loss could have knocked them out of the playoff picture for a second straight year.

For a half, it wasn't close. Notre Dame ran a no-huddle offense from the first snap, and Miami, playing without injured star receiver Malachi Toney, managed 28 total yards in the first quarter, according to NBC Sports. Jordan Faison got a foot down in the end zone on a 27-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter. The Irish defense then stuffed Miami on runs from inside the 1-yard line and forced a 19-yard field goal, and Carr marched 81 yards in 99 seconds before halftime, finding Micah Gilbert for an 18-yard score with 29 seconds left to make it 17-3.

Gilbert caught a 20-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, set up by a 56-yard Faison punt return, and Notre Dame led 24-3. That is when Darian Mensah and the Hurricanes woke up. Mensah hit Elija Lofton for a 12-yard touchdown and Cooper Barkate for another from 12 yards out less than three minutes later, and suddenly it was 24-17.

Safety Luke Talich steadied things with an interception late in the third quarter. Nolan James Jr. scored from the 1 early in the fourth after a Miami facemask penalty on third-and-goal, but Mensah answered with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Barkate with 9:53 left. After Spencer Porath missed a 53-yard field goal, Miami drove to the Notre Dame 18 and threw into the end zone on fourth down. The receiver appeared to get two feet down, but officials ruled he never had control, and the call stood on review. Fighting Irish Wire credited Talich with knocking the ball loose.

Mensah finished 24 of 43 for 302 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, according to the ESPN box score. Barkate caught 10 passes for 118 yards and two scores, and Lofton had seven for 113. Gilbert led Notre Dame with nine catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.

The game was the most notable in the series, NBC Sports wrote, since the 1988 "Catholics vs. Convicts" game, when No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami 31-30 on its way to a national title. On a day Notre Dame paid tribute to Lou Holtz, who coached that 1988 team, the program posted two words on its official account after the final whistle: "FOR LOU."

Sources: NBC Sports, Fighting Irish Wire and the ESPN box score.