Luke Talich's Two Big Plays Help No. 4 Notre Dame Hand No. 1 Miami Its First Loss 31-24

Luke Talich intercepted a pass in the third quarter and broke up a fourth-down throw in the end zone late in the fourth, and No. 4 Notre Dame held off a second-half rally to hand No. 1 Miami its first loss of the season, 31-24, on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Notre Dame (8-1) built a 24-3 lead early in the third quarter behind CJ Carr, who completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Miami (8-1, 6-0 ACC) answered with three touchdown passes from Darian Mensah and twice pulled within seven points, but Miami's last two possessions ended with Talich's fourth-down breakup and a fumble on the final play. Micah Gilbert caught nine passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns for the Irish.

Miami had been No. 1 in the AP poll since Oct. 18, the program's first stay at the top since 2002, and the Hurricanes played without star receiver Malachi Toney. Notre Dame came in at No. 11 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, and the win came a year after Miami beat the Irish 27-24 in the 2025 season opener. It was Notre Dame's fourth straight home win over Miami, a run that began with the 1988 meeting.

Notre Dame strikes first

Notre Dame took the opening kickoff and set the tone on its first drive. Nolan James Jr. picked up 4 yards on fourth-and-1 at the Miami 49, and the Irish moved to the Miami 25 before Spencer Porath kicked a 44-yard field goal at 9:38 of the first quarter. The 12-play drive covered 50 yards and took 5:22.

The Irish defense forced two Miami punts, and late in the quarter Carr found Jordan Faison for 26 yards to move into Miami territory. On the third play of the second quarter, Carr threw deep to Faison for a 27-yard touchdown at 14:02. The four-play, 65-yard drive put Notre Dame ahead 10-0.

A stand at the 1

Miami's response was its longest drive of the night. Mensah hit Cooper Barkate for 24 yards on the first play, Vandrevius Jacobs added a 22-yard catch, and two Notre Dame holding penalties gave the Hurricanes new life inside the Irish 20. Miami reached first-and-goal at the Notre Dame 1.

The Irish did not give up the final yard. Mark Fletcher Jr. was stopped for no gain, Mensah was stopped for no gain on the next two snaps, and Miami settled for a 19-yard Jake Weinberg field goal at 6:25. The 14-play, 83-yard drive took 7:33 and produced 3 points.

After the teams traded punts, Notre Dame took over at its own 19 with 2:08 left in the half. Carr completed six of seven passes on the drive, including an 18-yard throw to Gilbert and a 19-yard catch by Jaden Greathouse, and then hit Gilbert for an 18-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left. Notre Dame led 17-3 at halftime.

A punt return opens the third

Miami's first possession of the second half went backward. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa sacked Mensah for an 11-yard loss on third down, and on fourth-and-18 Dylan Joyce punted 59 yards to the Notre Dame 14. Faison returned it 56 yards to the Miami 30.

Notre Dame needed three plays to cash in. Carr hit Mylan Graham for 13 yards, and two plays later Carr found Gilbert for a 20-yard touchdown at 12:05 of the third quarter, and the Irish led 24-3.

Miami's comeback

The Hurricanes began their rally on a drive that nearly ended early. Elija Lofton caught a 10-yard pass and fumbled when Talich forced the ball out, but Fletcher recovered for Miami. A Notre Dame holding penalty on third down kept the drive going, and Mensah converted a third-and-10 with a 14-yard pass to Barkate before throwing 12 yards to Lofton for a touchdown at 8:26.

The Miami defense forced a three-and-out, and the Hurricanes scored again quickly. On fourth-and-1 at the Notre Dame 43, Mensah threw 31 yards to Lofton, and two plays later Mensah found Barkate for a 12-yard touchdown at 5:29. Miami had scored twice in less than three minutes, and the lead was down to 24-17.

Talich's two plays

Miami got the ball back after another Notre Dame punt and moved to its own 46 with Barkate catching two passes on the drive. On the next snap, Talich intercepted Mensah at the Notre Dame 49 with 1:49 left in the third quarter.

Notre Dame turned the takeaway into its last touchdown. Facing fourth-and-2 at the Miami 43 early in the fourth quarter, Carr found James open for a 36-yard gain to the Miami 7. A personal foul on Miami on third down gave the Irish a fresh set of downs at the 1, and James scored on a 1-yard run at 12:55 for a 31-17 lead.

Miami answered again. Mensah hit Barkate for 35 yards on third-and-8, a pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Notre Dame 8, and Mensah threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Barkate at 9:53 to make it 31-24.

Notre Dame had a chance to make it a two-score game, but Porath's 53-yard field goal attempt missed with 5:49 left. Mensah then threw 41 yards to Lofton to reach the Notre Dame 22. On fourth-and-6 from the 18, Mensah threw for Lofton, and Talich knocked the ball loose. The pass was ruled incomplete, the call stood after a review, and Notre Dame took over on downs with 3:36 to play.

Running out the clock

Notre Dame handed the ball to James six straight times. The running back gained 19 yards and one first down, and Miami used its timeouts to stop the clock. Jasper Scaife punted 50 yards to the Miami 13 with 57 seconds left.

Miami's final drive started with a sack by Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore. Mensah then ran for 11 yards and hit Jacobs for 17 yards to the Miami 38. After an incompletion, one second remained. On the final play, Mensah threw to Barkate, Leonard Moore forced a fumble, and Jaiden Ausberry recovered to end the game.

By the numbers

Notre Dame outgained Miami 412 to 377 and won the turnover battle 2-0. Miami converted 6 of 14 third downs and Notre Dame 5 of 14, Notre Dame went 2 for 2 on fourth down, and the Irish held the ball for 30:55. Notre Dame was penalized seven times for 56 yards, and several of those flags extended Miami drives, while Miami was flagged five times for 30 yards. Neither team ran the ball well. Miami finished with 101 rushing yards and Notre Dame with 93.

Carr spread the ball to 10 different receivers. Faison caught six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown and added 55 yards on two punt returns. James ran 16 times for 52 yards and the touchdown and had the 36-yard catch on fourth down, and Jonaz Walton ran 10 times for 37 yards.

Mensah completed 24 of 43 passes for 276 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Lofton, a tight end, caught seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, and Barkate caught 10 passes for 92 yards and two scores. Fletcher ran 13 times for 57 yards.

Ausberry made nine tackles and recovered the final fumble, Adon Shuler also had nine, and Viliamu-Asa had seven tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss. Talich finished with six tackles, the interception, a forced fumble and the fourth-down breakup. For Miami, linebacker Mohamed Toure made 12 tackles and Chase Smith had eight.

What it means

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman told NBC's Kathryn Tappen, "I'm happy for this university." The Irish have won two straight since their only loss, at BYU on Oct. 17, including a 35-13 win over Navy in Foxborough last week. Notre Dame has three regular-season games left: Boston College visits on Nov. 14, SMU visits Notre Dame Stadium on Nov. 21, and the Irish close at Syracuse on Nov. 28.

Miami's unbeaten run ended one week after a 38-35 escape at North Carolina and two weeks after a 52-23 win over Pitt in which Toney set a school record with 16 catches. Toney's status had been uncertain earlier in the week because of an ankle injury. The loss does not affect Miami's ACC record, and the Hurricanes stay unbeaten in league play. Miami hosts Duke on Nov. 14, then Virginia Tech on Nov. 21 and Boston College on Nov. 28.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play. More college football coverage on Undrafted.