MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami hadn’t beaten a top-10 team in nearly eight years. The opponent that night was Notre Dame.
It happened again Sunday night — and once again, at Notre Dame’s expense.
Carter Davis made a 47-yard field goal with 1:04 left for the go-ahead score, Carson Beck threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns in his Miami debut, and the 10th-ranked Hurricanes beat the sixth-ranked Fighting Irish 27-24 in the opener for both teams.
“It’s just an unbelievable night,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said after the Hurricanes snapped an eight-game slide against top-10 opponents. “Unbelievable night for so many people that poured so much into this.”
CJ Daniels made a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab and Rueben Bain had an interception on a thrice-deflected pass in the fourth quarter for the Hurricanes, who outgained Notre Dame 324 yards to 314. Malachi Toney had a touchdown catch and Marty Brown added a TD run for Miami.
CJ Carr, in his first start for Notre Dame, finished 19 of 30 for 221 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception — plus a rushing score with 3:21 left that tied the game, capping a rally from 14 points down. Micah Gilbert and Jordan Faison had the scoring grabs for the Irish.
“The effort was there,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said.
Miami went 46 yards on 10 plays on the ensuing drive, with Davis — a transfer from FAU — delivering for the lead. Notre Dame got the ball at its own 25, out of timeouts, and went nowhere before time expired.
“Gosh, I was nervous,” Beck said. “But we got it done.”
Miami won the coin toss and deferred, which proved relevant — since the Hurricanes essentially ran out the clock on the first half with a 75-yard TD drive, then started the second half with another 75-yard TD march.
Carr’s first collegiate touchdown pass came on a play where he dropped back, zigging and zagging to avoid pressure, then ran back toward the line before finding Gilbert for what became a rather easy score that tied the game at 7-7.
Nearly an hour passed in real time before Carr threw another ball, as Miami essentially had back-to-back possessions separated only by an Irish kneel-down to end the half.
Daniels’ 20-yard grab came with 12 seconds left before halftime to give Miami a 14-7 lead, and the Hurricanes chewed up half of the third-quarter clock on another 75-yard drive capped by Brown’s 5-yard run.
The 14-point lead didn’t last, but Davis delivered and then Bain and Akheem Mesidor combined for sacks on the final two snaps as Miami’s defense closed it out.
“It was a top-10 fight,” Freeman said. “It came down to a three-point game against a hell of a football team.”
The takeaway
Notre Dame: The Irish became the fourth team that was ranked in the top eight of the preseason AP Top 25 to lose this weekend, after No. 1 Texas (to No. 3 Ohio State), No. 4 Clemson (to No. 9 LSU) and No. 8 Alabama (to Florida State). They’ve now lost seven consecutive road games against the Hurricanes since 1977.
Miami: Beck is the seventh consecutive quarterback to win his Miami starting debut, following D’Eriq King, Tyler Van Dyke, Jake Garcia, Jacurri Brown, Emory Williams and Cam Ward. Expect Miami to gain a few spots in the AP Top 25.
Up next
Notre Dame: Hosts Texas A&M on Sept. 13.
Miami: Hosts Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.
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