Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame silence doubters by knocking off top-ranked Miami, solidifying their CFP ranking
After spending five days as the No. 1 team in the country, it was No. 11 Notre Dame that handed the Miami Hurricanes its first loss of the season in the highly anticipated showdown that has been circled for the past year.
Is there an elite team in college football this season?
We thought this would turn into an instant classic, based off the history between these two teams that goes back to the "Catholics vs. Convicts" showdown in the '80s.
But, we also thought entering the week that Miami would have star wide receiver Malachi Toney on the field to help add to the drama between these two teams.
In reality, the Hurricanes did not score their first touchdown until there were nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, by which point Notre Dame had raced out to a 24-10 lead. But the floodgates finally opened in the fourth quarter, leading to a thrilling finish in South Bend.
Were we about to see some of that college football madness that was missing from the actual game being played on the field?
A touchdown pass from Miami quarterback Darian Mensah cut Notre Dame’s lead to 24-17, prompting the Hurricanes’ sideline to erupt as coaches tried to keep their players’ emotions in check.
It was at this point that Notre Dame fought their way out of the corner after taking a barrage of punches you'd expect from the No. 1 team in the country. A Nolan James Jr. touchdown run put the Fighting Irish back up by two scores, and almost put away a Miami team who had gassed itself out over that eight-minute stretch.
But given that this game had so much history, it was only fitting that it came down to one final pass. Darian Mensah’s throw to Elija Lofton in the end zone was swatted away at the last second, preserving Notre Dame’s 31-24 win and denying Miami a chance to tie the game.
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Why not? We've seen so much craziness in college football this season, that it was only fitting this one would come down to the final minute in South Bend.
"I'm happy for this university, I'm happy for our players," Marcus Freeman said postgame. "You know, there's a lot of support from Notre Dame nation and this is a special moment for them. We're a dang good football team, and they're a dang good football team.
"When it mattered the most, they executed. It got a little ugly in that second half, and we talked about this moment before the game, I said 'at some point in the game there's gonna be a struggle'. They battled through it and executed when it mattered the most."
For all the talk about not winning on big stages, Marcus Freeman found himself urging his team off the field so quarterback CJ Carr could put the game away with two first downs, finally quieting questions about Notre Dame’s ability to finish.
One of the more lingering questions that will stir the pot of local sports talk radio stations over the next few days, and yes people still listen to the radio, will be what the CFP committee decides to do with the upcoming rankings that will be released on Tuesday night.
In the case of Notre Dame, they entered this game with the "must win" hanging over their heads, thanks to their strength of schedule and remaining opponents. Add that with the loss to BYU a few weeks ago, and the Cougars loss to Utah on Saturday, this was a game the Fighting Irish could not lose if they were hoping to participate in the college football playoff.
Now, if Notre Dame can avoid hitting the iceberg over the next three weeks against Boston College, SMU and Syracuse, they will find themselves in the postseason fighting for a national championship.
For Miami, there will be plenty of questions over the next few weeks. The Hurricanes will face a dangerous Duke team, Virginia Tech and Boston College to end the regular season, with their toughest opponent coming next week against the Blue Devils.
There will obviously be plenty of questions around this offense, with Malachi Toney not expected back until the ACC championship game at the earliest following his high-ankle sprain surgery that was performed this week after an injury sustained in practice.
For all of the talk, though, Miami showed us who they were when their backs were against the wall tonight. No, the Hurricanes didn’t win, but they did prove that they could put up the points needed for the time being without Malachi Toney.
Can they keep it up? That's to be determined over the next month, especially when you factor in the type of emotions that came with this game.
The bigger story right now, though, is Notre Dame putting themselves in a spot to clinch a playoff berth over the next three weeks.
No mistakes, just win.
Tonight, the Fighting Irish gave the CFP committee all of the necessary ammunition needed to put them squarely in the top-10 on Tuesday night.
Now, it's their job to not screw it up over the next three weeks.