Sports Buzz
By Barry Jackson
Twenty things we learned about the Miami Hurricanes in their highly entertaining 27-24 win against Notre Dame on Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium:
▪ There are still issues to fix, but this has the makings of a team that should compete for a conference championship.
UM’s four three-and-outs in the second half, and defensive breakdowns in the fourth quarter, warrant concern.
But let’s not lose sight of UM going toe-to-toe with a very good opponent, scoring late when it needed to, stopping Notre Dame on its final drive and beating a top-10 opponent that made the national championship game last season.
The final yardage count (318 for UM, 314 for Notre Dame) reflected the closeness of the game. And if UM can say it’s as good as a team of the Fighting Irish’s caliber, that’s a positive.
▪ The kicker who was 4 for 11 on field goals in his career saved UM, overcoming curiously conservative play-calling and defensive busts in the fourth quarter. What might have been UM’s biggest positional concern ended up winning the game.
In the most-pressure packed quarter of his football life, Carter Davis hit as many field goals (two) as he did all of last season, when he went 2 for 7 for FAU.
Davis hit a 38-yard field goal to put UM up 10 early in the fourth, then nailed a 47-yarder, with plenty to spare, to give the Canes a 27-24 lead with 1:04 left.
UM people privately say that one reason Davis was so poor on field goals at FAU was subpar work by his supporting cast (long snapper, holder). A poor snap prevented him from getting off a first-half field-goal attempt.
The Canes love Davis’ leg, and that’s one reason he beat out the more experienced Bert Auburn, the transfer from Texas. That strong leg also was evident on kickoffs; Notre Dame returned only one of six kickoffs, and that return went for only 15 yards.
▪ While Davis’ big night was a glorious surprise, UM’s other strengths were not a surprise.
The Canes have a very good offensive line; a quarterback who can make all the throws and knows what he’s doing; receivers who often can get open; its best running back depth of the Mario Cristobal era; a formidable pass rush; and a vastly improved defensive backfield.
All that was clear Sunday night, despite the fourth-quarter hiccups.
▪ Beck’s disappointing 2024 season at Georgia wasn’t reflective of his ability.
Keep in mind that Beck had 30 passes dropped last season, the most of any quarterback in the country, per ESPN.
On Sunday, he avoided the mistakes that bit him in the butt last season, when he had 12 interceptions. He closed 20 for 31 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
He made smart decisions, displayed friskiness in the pocket and generally ran the offense how Shannon Dawson wants it run.
At one point, he completed 12 passes in a row, including a nifty toss to Elija Lofton for a first down on third-and-6.
He wasn’t primarily at fault for UM’s four consecutive three-and-outs in the second half, a stretch in which the Canes gained just 15 yards.
Dawson has given him much more flexibility to change plays than he had at Georgia.
There was no indication that last December’s elbow surgery affected him at all. Though he didn’t connect on a deep pass to Jojo Trader, the arm was plenty strong enough.
▪ UM can go three deep at running back without missing a beat.
In a mild surprise, Jordan Lyle started ahead of Mark Fletcher Jr. before exiting with what appeared to be an ankle injury, after rushing five times for 11 yards. (WQAM’s Josh Darrow said he was cleared to return to the game.)
Fletcher, who entered camp as the front-runner to start before missing some time in August, was integral in the TD drive to start the second half and finished with 66 yards on 15 carries, a 4.4 average.
And CharMar Brown, the freshman FCS All-American at North Dakota State last season, ran hard and ran well, rushing 15 times for 54 yards (3.6 per carry) and willing his way into the end zone on a powerful 5-yard run to cap the TD drive that opened the third quarter.
He had the most impactful non-TD run of the night, converting a third-and-2 inside the two-minute warning to get Miami within field-goal range.
He also displayed skill as a receiver out of the backfield, catching two passes for 17 yards.
▪ Freshman Malachi Toney has the talent to be one of UM’s best slot receivers in the modern era.
It was obvious in the spring game that Toney couldn’t be covered 1-on-1, as he repeatedly tormented Charles Brantley (who had the nation’s best passer rating against while at Michigan State last season) and other far more experienced players.
It was also obvious on Sunday when he repeatedly beat man coverage on a night that included six catches for 82 yards and a 25-yard touchdown.
Notre Dame needed perhaps the nation’s best cornerback, Leonard Moore, to defend him in the second half. And Moore had good coverage on an incomplete third-down pass to Toney, forcing a punt.
“We were trying to keep him a secret,” Mario Cristobal said afterward.
But this goes beyond elite talent. As Dawson said, Toney has a “pretty rare… advanced ability” to read coverages as a freshman.
▪ Speaking of receivers, CJ Daniels contradicted any perception that he was merely a depth addition.
As noted last week, Daniels’ performance in August — after missing much of spring ball with an injury — exceeded what might have been expected from a No. 4 receiver at LSU.
He consistently got open throughout camp and has a keen understanding of defenses and coverages. And his soaring one-handed 20-yard TD catch at the goal line was the play of the game Sunday, giving UM a 14-7 lead before halftime. He finished with five catches for 46 yards.
▪ Also speaking of receivers, Keelan Marion is more than just a deep threat.
He found creases in Notre Dame’s defense early en route to finishing with three catches for 29 yards.
As Dawson said in our piece on Friday, “he has true game-breaker speed. A lot of times, guys like that struggle with intermediate routes and he doesn’t. He has the ability to run the whole route tree. He can be out there in any situation in any play call. He’s really had a really good camp. I’m excited to watch him play.”
▪ UM’s offensive line made a couple of damaging mistakes but generally was very good and came through late.
The Canes didn’t always dominate the line of scrimmage but they controlled it enough, and that’s saying something against a defensive line filled with top recruits. The line was at its best on UM’s late game-winning drive and on a 12-play, 75 yard TD drive to open the third quarter.
That UM front also did good work on the first two TD drives, which covered 70 yards (on eight plays) and 75 yards (on 12 plays).
The Canes kept Carson Beck clean for three quarters. UM didn’t allow a sack until Boubcar Traore shook free to take down Beck early in the fourth. With Notre Dame rushing only three, that was an inexcusable error by the Canes.
But there were plenty of positives.
Right tackle Francis Mauigoa and new center James Brockermeyer had an excellent block on a 3-yard run by Mark Fletcher Jr. on fourth-and-1. Mauigoa helped Brown convert a key third-and-2 on UM’s winning drive.
This wasn’t a perfect effort. Right guard Anez Cooper had a hurtful holding penalty early in the third quarter, then allowed a Notre Dame pass rusher to shake free on third down, forcing a rushed incomplete pass by Beck, which preceded the Fighting Irish touchdown that tied the score at 24.
UM was stuffed on a third-and-short run on its first drive of the game.
▪ The defense, under new coordinator Corey Hetherman, has improved but had some alarming fourth-quarter lapses.
For three quarters, everything was different and better, particularly the tackling and coverage.
For three quarters, UM allowed only one passing play of more than 15 yards, and that 27-yard acrobatic catch by Malachi Fields was tightly covered by OJ Frederique.
But the fourth quarter was a mess until the Fighting Irish’s final possession. Canes defenders gave Notre Dame receivers too much cushion in coverage, the interior of the defense allowed too many holes up the middle and linebacker Mohamed Toure busted coverage on Eli Raridon’s 65-yard catch and run, setting up Carr’s 7-yard run for the tying touchdown.
“If we don’t have the bust, the night is elite,” Cristobal said.
▪ UM’s vaunted pass rush came through late.
Notre Dame got the ball back with 1:08 left but could do nothing, thanks mostly to a swarming pass rush from Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor.
Mesidor forced an intentional grounding on that last series, resulting in a 10-second run-off with 26 seconds left. ESPN credited Mesidor with 1.5 sacks and gave Bain half a sack. Ahmad Moten had UM’s other sack.
Bain, who had an interception off a deflection earlier in the second half, is “truly a special talent, as explosive as it gets,” Cristobal said.
▪ UM’s top three defensive tackles were up to the task.
They didn’t always win their matchups against blue-chip offensive linemen, but they held their own and made four big plays: two by David Blay Jr., a forced fumble by Justin Scott and an Ahmad Moten pressure that forced an intentional grounding penalty against C.J. Carr on a Notre Dame drive in the fourth, creating a second-and-21, a drive that ended with a field goal.
Defenders beat their blockers often enough, usually keeping short screens from turning into long gains, until the fourth quarter, at least.
UM held Jeremiyah Love, considered the nation’s best running back, to 33 yards on 10 carries, a 3.3 average for a player who averaged 6.9 yards a pop last season.
Overall, Notre Dame had just 93 yards on 28 carries, a 3.3 average.
▪ Some of the portal pickups on defense paid immediate dividends.
Blay had a tackle for loss on a third-down run by CJ Carr as well as a knock down of another pass, showing he was ready for the step-up in competition after flourishing at Louisiana Tech. Cristobal told ABC that Blay was a must-get in the portal.
Keionte Scott made three very good plays in coverage, proving what both Scott and the metrics said: He’s a very good slot cornerback who was miscast on the boundary at Auburn last season. He also had one of two deflections that preceded a Bain interception early in the fourth.
On the flip side, new middle linebacker Mohamed Toure had four tackles but was victimized on the biggest defensive misstep of the night -- Eli Raridon’s 65-yard catch and run that set up Carr’s 7-yard TD run to tie the game at 24 late. (Returning middle linebacker Raul Aguirre also played a lot.)
▪ The cornerback play is vastly improved.
Aside from the one play against Frederique (who wasn’t exactly beaten on the play), the quartet of Frederique, Xavier Lucas, Damari Brown and Scott was excellent for three quarters, before allowing a few intermediate throws to be completed when UM played more conservatively late.
Frederique, UM’s one cornerback jewel last season, started opposite Lucas, with Scott in the slot.
▪ It was heartening to see Brown make the first deflection of the pass that Bain intercepted.
Brown played just 14 snaps in the opener before the foot injury, returned for the Syracuse game, but then underwent surgery in December.
“I looked at it as a lost” year somewhat but not entirely, he told me this summer. “I got to see it though another lens, saw things I have to work on through other peoples’ games. I’m ready to be unleashed. I haven’t lost speed or skill. I have a lot in the tank I’ve yet to show. I have to showcase it by being available.
“We have a loaded DB room. There is competition and talent everywhere. I feel like we will be one of the top units in the country. I am excited to see what we can do.”
▪ The safeties were active and competitive but have room to improve.
Zechariah Poyser and Jakobe Thomas should, at the very least, be a competent tandem.
But Poyser was beaten badly on one passing play, took a bad angle on a 30-yard Jadarian Price run and committed a holding penalty; this was certainly a step up in competition from Jacksonville State.
Thomas recovered the fumble that Scott forced and was strong in run support, including a stop on a first-and-goal from the 1 to end the third quarter. But he mistakenly lost coverage on Carr’s second-quarter TD pass to Micah Gilbert.
Dylan Day, the No. 3 safety, foolishly removed his helmet on a goal-line play, which was called an unnecessary roughness penalty.
▪ Marquise Lightfoot, so far, is the most impactful of the half dozen highly recruited edge rushers added in the past two recruiting classes.
Lightfoot was battling Armondo Blount for the No. 3 defensive end job throughout camp and he forced a premature incomplete throw by Carr after Bain flushed him out of the pocket.
Lightfoot, Booker Pickett and freshman Hayden Lowe are the young edge players particularly worth watching.
▪ Samson Okunlola has earned the staff’s trust after a quiet, injury-plagued first two years at UM.
Offensive line coach Alex Mirabal said as much in late July, asserting that Okunlola — a former five-star recruit — could start at any ACC school.
UM used him at left guard, replacing starter Michael McCoy, at times on Sunday. He committed a holding penalty but otherwise seemed competent.
▪ Special teams were problematic early, much better late.
A bad snap by Adam Booker prevented a UM field-goal attempt in the first quarter.
But Davis came through with the two enormous fourth-quarter field goals, including the game winner.
Miami had only two returns all night – a 32-yard kickoff return by Marion and a 9-yard punt return by Toney.
UM’s coverage teams were solid; Notre Dame returned one kickoff for 15 yards and two punts for just nine yards.
▪ Time management remains an issue at times. In this case, the coaching staff wasn’t to blame.
UM lost about 10 seconds late in the second quarter when Anez Cooper was chatting with a Notre Dame player and was slow getting back to the line of scrimmage, as ABC’s Sean McDonough noted. Beck looked exasperated.
But Daniels rescued UM with the acrobatic 20-yard TD catch.
This story was originally published August 31, 2025 at 11:35 PM.
