Whew. What a game. That possibly took a few months off my lifespan, but oh so worth it (and who called Miami 27, Notre Dame 24 in the picks piece by the way)?
The Miami Hurricanes hung on at the end for a 27-24 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday night before a national television audience and over 66,000 fans inside Hard Rock Stadium.
Carson Beck completed 20/30 attempts for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mark Fletcher, Jr. led the Canes with 62 rushing yards on 15 carries. Freshman Malachi
Toney had a coming out party on national television with 6 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown to pace Miami’s pass catchers.
The first quarter finished scoreless, with the teams trading punts. A fumble recovery led to a field goal attempt for Miami, but the snap didn’t reach the holder, and Dylan Joyce had to run around before going out of bounds.
But the second quarter is where Miami gained an advantage they would carry for most of the evening. Beck uncorked a laser deep to Toney, who pulled it in for a 28-yard touchdown. After a punt, the Irish answered on a 66-yard drive. It ended in a head-scratching fashion, and CJ Carr got away from Ahmad Moten scrambled, and found Micah Gilbert for a 7-yard touchdown.
But Miami ended the first half on a high, driving into the red zone in the half’s final seconds. What seemed to be a field goal turned into a highlight-reel touchdown by CJ Daniels to send Miami into the half up 14-7.
The Hurricanes started the second half in perfect fashion, driving 75 yards in 13 plays and taking more than half the third quarter off the clock in the process. Miami ‘s offensive line had set the tone for much of the game, and that continued on this drive, which ended with a 5-yard Marty Brown run where the pile just forced its way across the goal line.
But then, Miami’s physicality dissipated, and Notre Dame found success running the ball, particularly with Carr keepers, and got their offense in gear late in the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Carr scrambled in to make it 21-14. Miami’s offense hit a cold stretch and punting back to the Irish again. Fortunately, Damari Brown tipped a pass up, and Rueben Bain, Jr., who had a strong game, caught it and ran inside the Notre Dame 30. However, the drive stalled quickly, and Carter Davis banged through a 38-yard field goal to give the Canes a tad more breathing room.
However, the Canes couldn’t put it away late when they had the chance. With the football up 24-17 with under 5 minutes to go, the Canes couldn’t put the game away, with Beck throwing incomplete on third and 8. Suddenly, Notre Dame was back down the field very quickly after a 65-yard pass to Eli Raridon. Two plays later, and it was tied at 24 with the Irish having all the momentum.
But fortunately for the Canes, they had one more scoring drive in them. A defensive pass interference possibly stopped a touchdown, but it put the Canes into ND territory. Two Brown runs got Miami into field goal range, and eventually, Davis blasted through a 47-yarder with 1:04 left to give the Canes a narrow advantage.
The Miami defense shut the door, with a forced intentional grounding followed by a sack of Carr ending the game and sending Miami fans into a frenzy.
What a game. What a start to the season.
