The Miami Hurricanes fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in Week 10, losing 31-24 to Notre Dame. Things were bad coming of the gate with Notre Dame jumping out to an early 10-0 lead that was extended to 24-3 early in the third quarter.
Miami showed some championship mettle by battling back, and some players stepped up to the challenge. Others fell short and that inconsistency is what proved to be too much for the Hurricanes to overcome. Now the question becomes how far they will fall in the CFP rankings after occupying the No. 1 spot in the initial poll.
Here are the winners and losers from Miami's Week 10 loss to Notre Dame:
Losers: The Miami defense dug a hole it couldn't crawl out of
In the interest of fairness, the Hurricanes' defense was better this week than their porous Week 9 effort against North Carolina, but eventually the same issues came to the surface.
A defense that misses tackles and leaves the middle of the field wide open for the passing game is not going to have success. Obviously, there are a lot of injuries in the secondary that have to be accounted for, but these holes in the pass defense were too easy for CJ Carr to exploit.
Winners: Cooper Barkate is back and Elija Lofton emerges
With Miami's offense fluttering in the first half, Darian Mensah and Barkate took it back to 2025 and started going to work. The inside slant began picking up yards and a slip screen provided an explosive 35-yard gain that set up another score. Barkate had 10 catches for 92 yards and two scores, highlighting his short-area quickness and ability to find gaps in tight coverage.
Lofton, however, raised his game to the next level. Forget the blown touchdown call for a second and think about the touchdown he did have and the 41-yard catch-and-run that set up the eventual non-call.
The former blue-chip recruit from Las Vegas is an exceptional athlete and continues to grow into one of Mensah's most reliable targets. His seven-catch, 113-yard effort in Week 10 is hopefully just the beginning.
Darian Mensah pulls out some magic to get the ball to Elija Lofton, who does the rest and gets Miami just outside of the red zone. pic.twitter.com/0nLLiE5IFi
— Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) November 8, 2026
Losers: The Miami pass rush just isn't there this season
Replacing Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor was never going to be easy, but the hope was that Damon Wilson II would be the guy that could ease some of the pain of those losses, but the Missouri transfer has not delivered. He was invisible last night and, outside a couple of games, Wilson hasn't been someone that Corey Hetherman can rely on this season.
The Miami defensive line was pretty stout against the run, but without Wilson, Marquise Lightfoot and Armondo Blount getting home in the pass rush, it was easy work for Carr.
Biggest disappointment for me? Lack of pass rush. Some pressures, some on blitzes, but no sacks. Blount (53 snaps) & Damon Wilson (29 snaps) didn't have a tackle (per ESPN), let alone a sack. Nobody necessarily expected Bain/Mesidor production, but far more is needed. https://t.co/DZzFIhoxUL
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) November 8, 2026
Losers: Shannon Dawson's RB usage was head scratching
Javian Mallory is Miami's best running back this year, and it shouldn't be a secret by this point. But it was Jordan Lyle, not Mallory, that received the first RB2 reps and Mensah had more designed carries than Mallory, including a QB sweep on third-and-goal in the first half that went nowhere. When Mallory did get in the game, he ran the ball well, and should have gotten a lot more opportunities given what he's shown all season.
Losers: Miami lost the 'middle eight' and couldn't recover
Despite being down 17-3 at the four-minute mark of the first half, Miami had some opportunities to get points on the board before halftime, but had a four-and-out and three-and-out on consecutive possessions to end the half.
The Hurricanes received the ball to open the second half and went three-and-out again before Notre Dame took its first possession of the third quarter and scored another touchdown to go up 24-3. It was poor game management on offense at the worst possible time.
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