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Andrea Adelson
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Notre Dame had one last chance to beat Miami with 1:04 left on the clock, and redshirt freshman CJ Carr was charged with driving the Irish down the field.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal surveyed the field from the opposite sideline. He had a feeling his stalwart defensive ends, Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, would take advantage of the tired Irish offensive line.
Mesidor and Bain came up with sacks on back-to-back plays late in the fourth quarter to seal the No. 10 Hurricanes’ raucous 27-24 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday night.
“You know the old saying, these are heavyweight bouts, and rounds 11 through 15 are going to separate the winners and the guys that don’t win it,” Cristobal said. “So, we knew it was going to somehow, some way, get to this, and we just felt that if we were tired, that they were going to be more tired. And that was a chance at ‘whatever it takes mentality,’ and going to get it done.”
Perhaps even more gratifying was watching the Miami defense make the plays to seal the win. Last season, the Hurricanes lost a chance to play in the ACC championship game after blowing a 21-0 lead to Syracuse to end the regular season. Cristobal made staff changes, bringing in new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman to revamp not just the scheme but Miami’s attitude.
Injuries hampered Mesidor and Bain last season. But heading into the matchup with Notre Dame, both talked about feeling healthy and ready to play well in the new, aggressive scheme that would allow them to make plays.
“We go through the two-minute drill every single day in the hot sun,” Mesidor said. “When the lights are up, and it’s cool outside, and when the moment is right, we’re going to get after it.”
He then referenced their uniform numbers. Mesidor wears No. 3 and Bain wears No. 4.
“Three and four all day,” Mesidor said.
“All day!” Bain responded. “Best in the nation.”
Both players said they noticed that Notre Dame was the favorite heading into the game. Bain showed his cell phone lock screen during his postgame news conference, with a screenshot of an article that, he said, had negative things to say about him.
Perhaps that provided extra motivation. But it seemed renewing a rivalry with the Irish was motivation enough. Former Miami players and coaches, including Jimmy Johnson, Michael Irvin, Devin Hester and Ray Lewis, stood on the sideline in one of the most anticipated home season openers in recent memory.
Carson Beck made his debut for the Hurricanes after transferring from Georgia, and he helped get Miami in position for the game-winning drive after Notre Dame erased a two-touchdown lead and tied the score at 24 with 3:21 remaining.
Miami had dominated up front for a majority of the game, but after scoring on the opening drive of the third quarter, the playcalling turned conservative, and the Hurricanes mustered 15 yards on their ensuing four drives.
Beck said he told his teammates that when they got the ball back, they would score. He opened the fourth-quarter drive with a completion to CJ Daniels, who wowed earlier in the game with a one-handed leaping 20-yard touchdown catch to give Miami the lead at halftime. The Hurricanes then turned to running back CharMar Brown, who got the Hurricanes into field goal range.
Transfer kicker Carter Davis lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt. Davis beat out two other kickers to win the starting job, but he had spent the bulk of his career as a kickoff specialist. Heading into Sunday night, he had gone 4-of-11 in his career on field goal attempts.
Beck said he was nervous as he saw Davis line up. Davis said he went through his mental checklist, trying not to let the sold-out crowd get to him.
“Once I looked up at it and I saw it was in, I’d say my heartbeat skipped, plus accelerated, because I was just so excited for it,” Davis said.
Beck finished 20-of-31 for 205 yards with 2 touchdowns. Carr, making his first career start, made some gutsy plays throughout the game — including a diving 7-yard run to tie the score. But with the game on the line, he didn’t get an opportunity for a score, thanks to the Miami defense.
Notre Dame has lost seven straight road games to Miami.
“Tonight wasn’t good enough out of me, specifically. We’ve got to get better,” Carr said.
“Every goal we have is ahead of us,” said Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, who added that the Irish have to play better on the offensive and defensive lines. The Irish had one sack and struggled to get after Beck.
“You’re not going to be really successful on defense if you can’t get pressure on the quarterback with four-man rushes,” Freeman said.
Miami created pressure on Carr, particularly at the end of the game, to claim its first win over an AP top-10 opponent since beating No. 3 Notre Dame 41-8 in 2017.
“It’s just an unbelievable night for so many people that poured so much into this,” Cristobal said. “Just grateful to be in this opportunity and really hungry and driven [for] the next one.”