Hurricanes break down game-winning drive vs Notre Dame. Plus a Jordan Lyle update
The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes’ offense went from back-to-back stellar drives midway through their season opener to falling into a rut that almost cost them their chance to upset the sixth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday.
Four consecutive three-and-outs by UM allowed Notre Dame to erase a 14-point Miami lead, tying the game with 3:21 left on the clock.
But when things mattered the most, the Hurricanes’ offense returned to form, gutting out 46 yards over 10 plays capped by a go-ahead 47-yard field goal by kicker Carter Davis that held for Miami’s 27-24 victory.
Speaking Monday, Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said he was playing for the field goal once the team got within field-goal range, using the Hurricanes’ run game to force the Fighting Irish to use their timeouts throughout the drive to force them into a tough clock management situation should they get the ball back with limited time.
That’s why CharMar Brown ran the ball each of the final five plays of the drive, the final three of which resulted in Notre Dame using their timeouts to preserve clock.
Once Davis kicked the field goal, Miami’s defense held strong, sealing the game with back-to-back sacks.
Dawson’s full explanation was as follows:
“When we got in field goal range, look, I’ve seen our kicker kick it. I knew that he could make it. We do two-minute [drills] a lot. We do two minutes where we need a touchdown; we do two minutes where we need a field goal. And ultimately, when we crossed that line, we got the first down. And then the next three plays, I was going to make them use their timeouts. And then on the third-down play, I’m always itching to put the game away. Ultimately, I had two plays in mind. One was what I would call a safe pass play [even though] there’s no safe pass plays because we did a screen earlier and dropped it in the second quarter. The other was, ‘Hey, let’s run it right.’ The reason I chose to run it was because they had a timeout. I wanted them to use a timeout, and I didn’t want to do something that would [allow] them [to] save that time out because in my heart I just knew that one minute without a timeout is hard. It’s hard when you got an elite pass rush because a sack is about 30 seconds. Yeah, it was a risky deal because ultimately we’ve gotta make a field goal. But I told [quarterback] Carson [Beck] to trust his teammates. I also trust our kicker and I trust our pass rush in two minute situations, so that’s why I went with it.”
Jordan Lyle update
Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said he expects sophomore running back Jordan Lyle to practice this week ahead of Miami’s home game on Saturday against Bethune-Cookman (7 p.m., ACCNX).
Lyle, who started the game against Notre Dame on Sunday, was limited to five carries for 11 yards before leaving with an apparent ankle injury but was cleared to return to the game according to WQAM.
“He’s gonna be OK,” Cristobal said. “He tweaked his leg for a second, but all indications that he’ll be a full-go at [Tuesday’s] practice.”
With Lyle sidelined for most of Sunday’s game, Mark Fletcher Jr. and Brown handled the bulk of the team’s duties at running back. Each had 15 carries, with Fletcher running for 66 yards and Brown for 54 and a touchdown.
This story was originally published September 1, 2025 at 5:05 PM.
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