SOUTH BEND, IN – The Hurricanes suffered their first defeat of the season to Notre Dame on Saturday night, 24-31.
The atmosphere resembled a playoff environment, due to the fact that it had College Football Playoff implications. The CFP committee ranked the Fighting Irish at 11 in their first release of the rankings last week, which was a surprise to many.
The AP poll had them at No. 4, which is a signifcant difference. It showed how the committee felt about them, making this game against Miami basically an elimination game.
With how the first half went for the Canes, it seemed like it was going to be a long night for Miami. With a spirited second half comeback that just fell short, there was a lot that many didn’t see on television.
Here are three things you didn’t see on TV in South Bend that caught my eye.
1. The Miami players hearing it from Notre Dame fans as they exit the field
Being down on the field for the field storming as the game clock hits zero was insane.
It’s what separates college sports from others and what makes it so great. As I was right down the alley that Miami has to go to get to the locker room, it got a bit chaotic.
Mario Cristobal is a fan of Field Storming, just stay out of his and his players way, and go have fun
#GoCanes #TheU #CollegeFootball #MiamiHurricanes #notredame pic.twitter.com/3X0nkjAUwQ
— Eye of the Hurricanes (@CanesCentralSI) November 8, 2026
Notre Dame fans, celebrating as they should, got a bit too comfortable with how they were rushing the field and getting close to the players. There was your obvious smack talk, but with emotions running high, things can get a bit out of control.
The Hurricanes personnel and staff did the best job they could to get their players and members of the program back safely to the back, where the locker room was, where I ended up after the field was stormed.
2. Frustruation in the back but ready to get back to work
With how the game ended, there were some rightful frustration from many people getting back to the locker room.
The play that will be talked about forever in this storied rivarly, as it was a huge deciding factor late in the fourth quarter with Elija Lofton’s incomplete catch in the end zone.
Miami was THIS CLOSE to tying things up against Notre Dame.
Elija Lofton can’t secure the catch and the Hurricanes turn the ball over on downs. pic.twitter.com/yk3IaSGI75
— Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) November 8, 2026
The play before was also controversial as Daylyn Upshaw was interefered early as the ball was getting to him towards the end zone. If a pass interference call would’ve been made, Miami would have had a goal-to-goal stand with a brand new set of downs.
Despite the lack of calls going there way, there was still plays to be made. I would describe it as being frustratingly optmistic after the game, knowing they did not play their best game on the road and still almost had a tremendous comeback.
3. Chatter among NFL scouts at the game
This game has been circled for scouts around the league for months.
The rosters at Miami and Notre Dame are some of the best in the country. There were 25 teams at South Bend and many of them were there to see quarterback Darian Mensah.
The majority of the NFL is here for the Miami-Notre Dame game:
Dolphins, Vikings, Rams, Patriots, Broncos, Saints, Jets, Eagles, Steelers, Seahawks, Bucs, Falcons, Ravens, Panthers, Browns, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Texans, Colts, Bills, Jags, Chargers, Commanders & Titans pic.twitter.com/WiieCsiUZw
— Jordan Lopez (@JordanTLopez) November 7, 2026
A lot of the scouts were also there to see Leonard Moore, who is projected to be a top five pick in this upcoming draft. They were impressed with the abundance of talent on the field as it was a great night to see the best go up against each other.
A lot of Miami players improved their stock and added more to their impressive season.
Notre Dame has more dudes than Miami…especially without Toney
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) November 8, 2026
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#Didnt #Miamis #Loss #Notre #Dame