No. 10 Miami (Fla.) Digs in Late, Tops No. 6 Notre Dame in 27-24 Thriller

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 No. 6 Notre Dame, 27-24, in the opener for both teams on Sunday night.

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 touchdown 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.

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.

“In the face of adversity, we got it done when we needed to,” Beck said.

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 touchdown drive — then started the second half with another 75-yard touchdown 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 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.