Irish Hang On Against Hurricanes

Written by Garrett Haydon 

Rivalry games can make or break a season and for the Irish, Saturday was no different

The rivalry against The University of Miami goes back to the late eighties and has been a hotly contested one at that. Saturday’s afternoon matchup marked the first time since 1990 that Miami had visited Notre Dame Stadium. 

Saturday’s matchup invoked memories of past classics with a back and forth game that went right down to the last minute. Justin Yoon drilled a 23-yard field goal with 30 seconds left to lift the Irish to a 30-27 victory Saturday evening at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish improved to 3-5 while Miami dropped its 4th straight to fall to 4-4.

Notre Dame defensive tackle Jarron Jones dominated all day long and finished with six tackles behind the line of scrimmage. 

“That was our emphasis trying to stop the run,” Jones said. “We knew our backend was playing solid, so we knew if we got penetration and play our run responsibilities we could come out on top in this game.”

Notre Dame dodged a bullet late in the game as tight end Durham Smythe fumbled at the goal line, but luckily they were able to recover the fumble to maintain possession. Smythe caught a short pass from Kizer and leaped towards the goal line. After the ball was the knocked loose, a scrum ensued but the Irish came out with the football. 

It was a tale of two halves as the Irish raced out to a 20-0 lead. Miami came all the way back to take a 27-20 lead. Josh Adams answered for ND almost immediately as he took a 41 yard run to the house to tie the game, it was the first Irish touchdown since the first quarter.

The Notre Dame defense forced a three-and-out after Adams’ score to set up Yoon’s winning field goal. 

“Just the fact we had to get a turnover or get the ball back, that was our focus,” said Jones. “We were excited for the opportunity, because we’ve had past opportunities that we didn’t come out successful.”

Irish Sports Daily Jarron Jones

As the fourth quarter began, the feeling of “here we go again” was clearly evident in the Notre Dame crowd. The feeling continued as Badgely hit another field goal, this one from 37 yards out to tie the ballgame. Saturday marked the 5th time this season the Irish had given up 17 or more consecutive points. 

Miami received the second half kickoff, trailing 20-7. Brad Kaaya got into a rhythm completing a couple of big third down throws as Miami got inside the 5 yard line after a Kaaya connection to Stacy Coley. Mark Walton then punched it in from a yard out to cut the deficit to 6.

The Hurricanes momentum continued as they blocked Tyler Newsome’s punt and took over with good field position. Kaaya looked much more comfortable in the half as he led Miami down the field to cut the lead to 3 after a Michael Badgley field goal with 4:41 left in the third. 

On the ensuing Notre Dame drive, the Irish got down to about the 30 yard line and chose to go for it on 4th down. A very puzzling decision by Coach Brian Kelly maintained the Miami momentum. Miami out gained the Irish 141-41 in the third quarter.

The turnover monster reared its ugly head as C.J. Sanders muffed another punt inside the five yard line that Miami recovered for a touchdown and gave them the lead. Sanders called for a fair catch but tried to do too much and misplayed it. The Irish special teams had a tough day overall with two turnovers, but Yoon hit all 3 of his field goals including the winner. 

Josh Adams was the rushing leader for ND, gaining 94 yards on 12 carries and the tying score midway through the 4th. Kizer finished with 263 yards through the air with 2 scores and also had 31 yards rushing. Kaaya had 186 yards in the air in the second half for Miami.

The Irish received the opening kickoff and preceded to march down the field as they installed a faster tempo. Josh Adams ripped off a nice run and Torii Hunter Jr. made a huge third down reception that led to the Irish getting set up inside the 10 yard line. After a Miami penalty, DeShone Kizer found Hunter on a shovel pass to give Notre Dame the early 7-0 lead. 

Playing in his final games for the Irish, Jones came to play early as Miami went three and out on their first drive. On the ensuing drive, Notre Dame got set up with great field position that resulted in Justin Yoon hitting a 37-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0.

The Irish defense was dominant early on as Cole Luke picked off Brad Kaaya late in the first quarter to set up another touchdown, this one from Kizer to a sliding Equanimeous St. Brown from 14 yards out. 

Early the second quarter the Irish extended their lead after a 53-yard catch and run from Kizer to Kevin Stepherson set up another Justin Yoon field goal.

Taking advantage oa Notre Dame muffed punt, the Hurricanes got on the scoreboard as Kaaya found David Njoku for a 2-yard touchdown pass with under 7 minutes to play in the half. 

Miami made a serious push to get the game closer but the Irish stepped up,  stopping Joseph Yearby on 4th down around the ND 30 yard line.

Notre Dame out gained the Hurricanes, 233-105 with most of the deficit coming from the 1st quarter. Kizer finished the first half 16 of 24 for 183 yards and 2 scores. Meanwhile, Kaaya was just 9 of 16 for 102 yards with a interception and a touchdown.