Miami and Notre Dame both won road ACC games this past Saturday and continue to be destined for a November showdown that will define the college football season. Here's a look at how both teams are playing, the injuries they are dealing with, and what's ahead.
Both teams are 5-0 after road battles against ACC teams
Notre Dame
Notre Dame is 5-0 after Saturday's 37-26 win at North Carolina. The rain-soaked victory extended ND's winning streak to 15 games, gave the Irish a second straight road win, and made this the best start of the Marcus Freeman era and the program's first 5-0 since 2020.
CJ Carr completed 21 of 29 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns and added a 3-yard scoring run on fourth-and-goal. He is now at 88 of 124 for 1,197 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception on the season.
Jordan Faison caught eight passes for 132 yards and two scores, including a diving 39-yard touchdown, and freshman Jonaz Walton ran 23 times for a career-high 120 yards as Notre Dame piled up 475 yards. The Irish rushed for 241 yards after averaging 141.8 on the ground through four games, and held the Tar Heels to 77 rushing yards.
Notre Dame opened the season with a 41-13 win over Wisconsin in the Shamrock Series at Lambeau Field, followed with a 52-0 shutout of Rice, a 27-10 win over Michigan State and a 49-10 win at Purdue. They have now outscored opponents 206-59 (41.2 points a game and 11.8 allowed). UNC did make it a game, using a 98-yard kickoff return to pull within one before Notre Dame answered with a 17-play, 75-yard drive that lasted over nine minutes and included three fourth-down conversions.
Miami
Miami is 5-0 and 3-0 in the ACC after a 41-13 win at Clemson. It was the program's first win in Memorial Stadium since 2010 and Miami's second-largest margin in a series that the Hurricanes now lead 8-7.
Darian Mensah completed 18 of 27 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. He also scored on a 34-yard scramble in which he was hit, fumbled the ball into the end zone and recovered it for the TD.
Mark Fletcher Jr. returned after missing the Central Michigan game and ran for 77 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns, including the 1-yard run that finished a nine-play, 62-yard drive. Cooper Barkate caught five passes for 98 yards, including a 61-yard screen on the first snap from scrimmage. Malachi Toney added five catches for 40 yards and is at 604 yards for the season.
Freshman JJ Dunnigan returned his first career interception 39 yards for a touchdown and the defense recorded six sacks and nine tackles for loss, with Damon Wilson II accounting for 2.5 of the sacks.
Miami has outscored Stanford, Florida A&M, Wake Forest, Central Michigan and Clemson 248-49 (49.6 points a game and 9.8 allowed), and the Hurricanes are also first nationally against the run at 42.6 yards a game and first in total offense at 549.6 yards per game.
Injuries for Miami and Notre Dame
Notre Dame
- Safety Brauntae Johnson (left foot) and defensive tackle Jason Onye (left ankle) were out at North Carolina. Both were hurt in the first half against Wisconsin and have been sidelined since.
- Also out for the game were offensive linemen Matty Augustine (right foot), Charles Jagusah (left humerus) and Chris Terek (right knee), defensive linemen Christopher Burgess Jr. (left tibia) and Tiki Hola (right knee), and cornerback Chaz Smith (right wrist). Wide receiver Quincy Porter (knee) is out for the season.
- Safety Luke Talich returned a little more than a week after hand surgery and played every defensive snap in a cast.
Miami
- Joshua Moore, Luke Gilbert and CharMar Brown are out for the season, defensive backs Xavier Lucas, O.J. Frederique Jr. and Ja'Boree Antoine were out against Clemson. Linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. was cleared to play after being probable on Friday.
- Mark Fletcher Jr. was off the report after sitting out Central Michigan with an upper-body injury from Wake Forest.
- Right tackle Matthew McCoy went down in the second quarter with an arm injury, grabbing his left arm after a block, and was out at the start of the second half. He returned in the third quarter in a shoulder harness and was not at full strength. Right guard Max Buchanan left earlier in the quarter with a left leg injury. He was also out to start the second half, and returned in the third. Jamal Meriweather and SJ Alofaituli filled in while they were out.
- Edge rusher Marquise Lightfoot recorded a sack in the first quarter, but left in the second after appearing to hurt his arm and he did not return. Cristobal said after the game that there would be no update on him until Tuesday or Wednesday, and that the team had a lot of guys go down.
The remaining schedules before Nov. 7
Notre Dame's games before Miami are Stanford at home on Oct. 10, at No. 10 BYU on Oct. 17, a bye, and Navy on Oct. 31 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
- Stanford is 2-3 after losing to Wake Forest 57-3
- BYU is 4-0 and ranked No. 10 after a 17-10 win at TCU.
- Navy is 1-3 after a 14-9 loss to Air Force.
Miami is on a bye in Week 6, has Florida State at home on Oct. 17, Pitt at home on Oct. 24 and North Carolina on the road on Oct. 31.
- Florida State is 3-2 after hammering Virginia 38-7.
- Pitt is 5-0 after coming back to win 35-33 against Virginia Tech. Quarterback Mason Heintschel tore his ACL and is out for the season.
- North Carolina is 2-2 after losing 37-26 to Notre Dame.
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