Notre Dame 31, Miami 24: Carr throws three scores and the Irish never turn it over

No. 1 Miami came to Notre Dame Stadium unbeaten and left 8-1. No. 11 Notre Dame won 31-24 on Saturday because CJ Carr was efficient and the Irish did not give the ball away.

Carr completed 29 of 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Notre Dame finished with zero turnovers. Miami had two, including a Darian Mensah interception. On a day when the yardage was close, 412 to 377, that was the margin.

The Irish built a 24-3 lead early in the third quarter. Miami scored three touchdowns after that and still never got the ball back with a chance to tie it after its final score.

How it was won

Notre Dame opened the scoring with a 44-yard Spencer Porath field goal at 9:38 of the first quarter. Carr found Jordan Faison for 27 yards on the first play-clock tick of the second quarter, at 14:02, to make it 10-0.

Miami's only first-half points came on a 19-yard Jake Weinberg field goal at 6:25. Carr answered with 29 seconds left in the half, hitting Micah Gilbert for 18 yards. Notre Dame led 17-3 at the break.

Carr and Gilbert connected again from 20 yards at 12:05 of the third quarter for a 24-3 lead. Then Mensah got going. He threw a 12-yard touchdown to Elija Lofton at 8:26 and another 12-yarder to Cooper Barkate at 5:29, cutting it to 24-17.

Notre Dame restored the two-score cushion with a 1-yard Nolan James Jr. run at 12:55 of the fourth. Mensah and Barkate hooked up from a yard out at 9:53 to make it 31-24, and that was the last scoring of the day.

Gilbert led Notre Dame with 9 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Faison added 6 for 77. James ran 16 times for 52 yards, and Jonaz Walton had 37 yards on 10 carries. The Irish ran for 93 yards in total and held the ball for 30:55.

Mensah finished 24 of 43 for 276 yards, three touchdowns and the interception. Barkate caught 10 passes for 92 yards and two scores, and Lofton had 7 for 113. Mark Fletcher Jr. carried 13 times for 57 yards as Miami outrushed Notre Dame 101 to 93.

Neither offense was sharp on third down. Miami converted 6 of 14, Notre Dame 5 of 14. First downs were nearly even at 22 to 21 in Notre Dame's favor.

Against the number

Notre Dame closed as a 7.5-point favorite. The Irish won by seven, so Miami covered.

The total closed at 54.5. The teams combined for 55, so the over cashed.

Both results turned on the same play. Before Barkate's 1-yard touchdown at 9:53 of the fourth, Notre Dame led by 14 and the game sat at 48 points. That score moved Miami inside the spread and pushed the total over.

On the moneyline, Notre Dame at -290 delivered for favorite backers. Miami at +235 did not. Closing prices are on the game page.

What's next

Miami (8-1) returns home to face Duke on Saturday, November 14, on ABC. The Hurricanes had won close games before this one, including 38-35 at North Carolina and 43-35 against Florida State, and they now need to regroup inside the ACC with the No. 1 ranking likely gone.

Notre Dame (8-1) adds a win over the top-ranked team to its resume. Its next opponent was not part of the material for this recap.