Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547512
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 14, 2026 19 Miami' for his first start. So it was cool to see this team be able to come out with a win today." Carr also got help from his defense, which was nearly infallible with junior cornerback Leonard Moore in the game. The Irish returned to the style of play that propelled them to the national champi- onship game following the 2024 season, playing single-high man coverage and stifling a Malachi Toney-less Hurricanes offense. Notre Dame's lead ballooned to 24-3, and for a minute, it looked like the Irish would run away with it. Freeman caught himself thinking as much, but he reminded himself what he told the team before the game and at half- time: This would be a battle. Something would happen that brought Miami back within striking distance, and when it did, Notre Dame would be ready. It turned out to be an apparent eye injury to Moore, who Freeman said was poked in the eye. The Hurricanes repeat- edly attacked his replacement, sopho- more cornerback Mark Zackery IV. Soph- omore corner Jayden Sanders also briefly left the game, and on the Canes' three drives with either Moore or Sanders out, they scored three touchdowns. But as the game began to slip from their grasp, the Irish kept their composure. "There's no success without a strug- gle," Freeman said. "When it hit, I kept saying, 'This is football. This is what we're talking about.' You heard them reiterate to each other, 'Okay, let's win this play. We talked about this. Let's win this play.'" With Miami threatening to tie the game late in the third quarter, senior safety Luke Talich picked off quarterback Dar- ian Mensah. On its second, Talich saved the game again in the fourth quarter with a fourth-down pass broken up at the last possible moment on Canes tight end Elija Lofton. Miami's last-ditch effort with less than a minute to go and no timeouts failed. When the final whistle blew, Notre Dame fans poured onto the field as 433 days of rage poured out of the stands in South Bend. Fans rushed to congratulate their players, who were more than happy to welcome them to the celebration. Much of the shouting blended together on the field, but one Fighting Irish staffer's words stood out. "Where they gonna rank us now?" the staffer yelled into the night. "Where they gonna rank us now?!" We'll find out Nov. 10, but the com- mittee's opinion can wait. For now, Notre Dame revels in one of the biggest regular- season wins in its storied history. "This is big," Freeman said. "This is special. I'm not going to sit here and say this is like the other ones. No, this is dif- ferent." FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 3, MIAMI 0 Top Moment: Senior defensive end Boubacar Traore set an aggressive tone, dropping Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. for a 5-yard loss on third- and-4 from the Hurricanes' 49-yard line. Miami never crossed midfield in the quarter. Feature Performer: Sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. moved the chains three times on Notre Dame's opening drive, including a gutsy fourth- and-1 conversion from Miami's 49. Stats: Notre Dame limited Miami to 9 plays and 28 yards while holding the ball for 10:46 … Junior quarterback CJ Carr completed 8 of 13 passes for 79 yards. Items: Junior kicker Spencer Porath capped the Irish's 12-play, 5:22 opening drive with a 44-yard field goal with 9:38 remaining. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 17, MIAMI 3 Top Moment: Traore delivered again. He and senior linebacker Jaiden Ausberry stopped quarterback Darian Mensah on third-and-goal from Notre Dame's 1-yard line, forcing Miami to settle for a field goal. Feature Performer: Carr completed 10 of 13 passes for 126 yards with 2 touch- downs. His picture-perfect 27-yard scor- ing throw to senior wide receiver Jordan Faison was matched by an even better catch. Carr also found junior Micah Gil- bert for an 18-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left in the half. Stats: Miami totaled 117 yards but scored just 3 points … The Hurricanes outrushed Notre Dame 64-8, while the Irish held a 126-53 advantage through the air. Junior quarterback CJ Carr threw 2 touchdown passes in the second quarter to help Notre Dame build a 17-3 half- time lead en route to its 31-24 victory over No. 1 Miami. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER