Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539020
22 SEPT. 13, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED "Tonight wasn't good enough out of me specifically, and we've got to be able to get better," Carr said. Ultimately, the big, bad Notre Dame team that won a College Football Play- off game on the same field it faced the Canes eight months prior was nowhere to be found until the game was nearly out of hand. The Irish weren't the bul- lies. They got bullied. Still, they had a chance to make it all a moot point. They did tie the game and quieted the crowd considerably. Again — too little, too late for these Irish, who didn't come close enough to playing the same brand of football that took them to the national title game a season ago. Long way to go, but lots to fix in the meantime. FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 0, MIAMI 0 Top moment: The Irish defense held the Hurricanes scoreless after an Irish fumble by wide receiver Malachi Fields inside the Notre Dame 25-yard line. Feature performers: Irish safety Jalen Stroman with 4 tackles and defen- sive end Boubacar Traore with 3 stops led Chris Ash's defense in an impressive first quarter that wouldn't last. Stats: Irish quarterback CJ Carr's first drive, which stalled at the Miami 42-yard line, consisted of 6 passes in 7 plays. Items: In addition to Carr, redshirt freshman right guard Guerby Lambert made his first career start as did soph- omore defensive end Bryce Young. SECOND QUARTER MIAMI 14, NOTRE DAME 7 Top moment: Carr's first career touchdown pass, buying time and ex- tending the play and eventually finding a wide-open Micah Gilbert to tie the game at 7-7. Feature performers: Jadarian Price kick-started the Irish running game, in- cluding a 30-yard run down to the Miami 3, which set up Notre Dame's only first- half score. Gilbert, a redshirt freshman, recorded the first 2 catches of his career — the first being for a first down and the second a 7-yard touchdown catch. Stats: Miami quarterback Carson Beck continued to find a rhythm in the passing game against what had been the nation's top pass efficiency de- fense each of the past two seasons. The sixth-year senior and Georgia transfer completed 7 of 10 second quarter passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. That in- cluded a 20-yard connection with LSU transfer CJ Daniels on a one-handed catch with 12 seconds left in the quarter. Items: Notre Dame junior corner- back Christian Gary landed awkwardly on his left shoulder and had to leave the game, with freshman Mark Zackery IV filling in. But Gray soon returned and finished the game. THIRD QUARTER MIAMI 21, NOTRE DAME 7 Top moment: A 26-yard reception by Fields was a catalyzing play in a long Notre Dame drive that didn't reach its conclusion until the fourth quar- ter. Otherwise, Miami dominated the quarter, including a scoring drive that chewed up over half the period. Feature performers: Carr began to rise to the occasion during the late drive, and the defense finally started to gain some traction after Miami stretched the lead to 21-7. Stats: Miami didn't dominate, but the Hurricanes had an edge in just about every statistical category, in- cluding yards gained (89-62), yards per play (5.9 to 4.8), time of possession (9:27 to 5:33). Beck completed all five of his pass attempts. Items: Redshirt sophomore Sullivan Absher got a run at right guard, though Lambert came back in the game later. FOURTH QUARTER MIAMI 27, NOTRE DAME 24 Top moment: Carr's 65-yard pass to tight end Eli Raridon late in the fourth quarter to set up his 7-yard scoring run to tie the game at 24-24 with 3:21 left in regulation. Feature performers: Carr was Notre Dame's best offensive player, with a 140.5 pass efficiency rating that almost matched Beck's 141.4. It was roughly 40 points better than Riley Leonard's 2024 Irish debut, at Texas A&M, last August. Stats: All the numbers except the final score and turnovers went Notre Dame's way in the fourth quarter. The Irish outscored Miami 17-6, outgained the Hurricanes 137-47, and Carr was 8-of-11 passing for 130 yards with a touchdown to Jordan Faison and a tipped intercep- tion that set up a Miami field goal. Items: Miami has won every home opener in its 18 seasons calling Hard Rock Stadium home. … Miami head coach Mario Cristobal is now 2-7 against ranked teams. … Raridon was the only Irish tight end to see action on offense or special teams. … Virginia Tech transfer safety Jalen Stroman led the Irish in tackles with 9. ✦ After the Fighting Irish tied the game with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Miami's Carter Davis booted a 47-yard field goal with 1:04 remaining for the winning points. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP