It wasn’t always pretty in the second half, but Notre Dame football walked away with a massive 31-24 win over the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes on Saturday night in South Bend. The Fighting Irish improved to 8-1 and gave their College Football Playoff chances a serious boost.

Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish had a lot on the line. A loss likely would have knocked them out of the playoff field. On top of that, Notre Dame hosted its most important recruiting weekend in years.

After building a 24-7 lead early in the second half, Notre Dame let Miami climb back into the game. Still, the Irish made enough plays down the stretch to secure a huge victory and their first win over a No. 1 team in quite some time.

I’m never going to call anybody a loser after beating the top team in the country. The best part about this win is that Notre Dame didn’t play a perfect game, so its best football could still be ahead of it.

The winners

Marcus Freeman and fast starts

Slow starts have been a major issue under Freeman in the past. Notre Dame responded in the biggest moment of the 2026 season. The Irish jumped out to a 10-0 lead, the defense played a strong first half, and the offense found a rhythm after a couple of average early drives.

If Notre Dame makes a deep playoff run, it will need to keep starting games with this kind of tempo and purpose.

CJ Carr

Carr has been up and down in big moments under Freeman, but that changed against the Hurricanes. On the night, Carr completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. His biggest plays came during a magnificent two-minute drive right before halftime.

Carr has been billed as a first-round pick, and the 6-2, 215-pound signal caller looked the part.

Chris Ash

The defense wasn’t great in the second half, but I thought defensive coordinator Chris Ash put together one of his better game plans. Miami quarterback Darian Mensah struggled early, and the defense was structured the right way. It played aggressively and sent second-level pressure. This was a nice bounce-back outing for Ash after a couple of down weeks.

Jordan Faison

It shouldn’t be a surprise, but the senior pass catcher was awesome. Faison caught six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. He also set up the offense with great field position on a 56-yard punt return.

Faison will end up as one of the more underrated players in Notre Dame history. The former walk-on is simply a winning football player.

Boubacar Traore

Traore made a ton of big plays early, including a huge third-down stop to end a first-half drive. His box score of five total tackles and a tackle for loss isn’t flashy, but he kept consistent pressure on Mensah. The 6-5, 250-pound pass rusher is a potential first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and he looked like it on Saturday night.

Run defense

With Malachi Tony out injured, Miami planned to lean on the run early and often. Outside of a 29-yard run by Mark Fletcher, the Hurricanes never got their ground game going. Miami finished with 93 rushing yards at 3.6 yards per carry, well below its season average. Take out that 29-yard run, and the Hurricanes managed just 64 yards on 25 carries.

Micah Gilbert

The 6-2, 205-pound pass catcher caught nine passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Some people questioned whether Gilbert only produced against bad teams. Against Miami, he looked like a real difference-maker at wide receiver.

Luke Talich

Tallage keeps delivering as the starting safety. He came up with a huge interception and added a couple of key pass breakups. The 6-4, 220-pound safety is making himself incredibly valuable, and it will be hard to take him off the field even when Brauntae Johnson returns from injury.

Defensive tackles

With Francis Brewu and Jason Onye out, a lot fell on Tionne Gray, Armel Mukam, Elijah Hughes, and Sean Sevillano Jr. They responded with a good overall game. Gray especially flashed, and Sevillano made a great hustle play in the second half. The interior line held up despite the injuries.

Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa

As Notre Dame’s new starting middle linebacker, Villamilasa was awesome. He totaled six tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack, and his pressure on the quarterback came at opportune times. The injury to Drayk Bowen is a bummer, but Viliamu-Asa continues to dominate when he’s healthy.

Christian Gray

Gray has often been a polarizing player, but he has been very solid in the nickel. He finished with six total tackles and two pass breakups, making steady plays all night along with a couple of clutch ones.

Recruiting operation

This was one of the biggest recruiting weekends in Notre Dame history, and it paid off before kickoff. The Irish landed top-100 commitments from 2028 defensive end Asa Burch and running back Zaiden Jernigan. Expect a lot more good recruiting news after this weekend.

The losers

My PTSD

Every time Notre Dame plays a big game, I get nervous. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think the Irish were in trouble for a minute when Miami came back. However, this team proved it just might be different. Bigger games are ahead, but I was very pleased with what I saw.

Kickoffs

Kickoff specialist Micah Drescher sent two kicks out of bounds, which hurt Notre Dame’s momentum at points. He needs to be a whole lot better, or the Irish need to find a new answer.

Ashton Craig

Facing Justin Scott and Ahmad Moten Jr., two potential early picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, is a difficult assignment. Craig battled and kept his composure, but he gave up several tackles for loss and had a rough night inside.

Mark Zachary IV

Filling in against Miami with so many cornerback injuries is a tough spot. Zachary struggled, giving up a couple of big plays, and Miami targeted him constantly in the second half. Depending on how banged up Jayden Sanders is and DJ McKinney’s recovery timeline, Notre Dame needs to find a better option at cornerback opposite Leonard Moore.