No. 10 Notre Dame 41, Miami 3: Cierre Wood rushed for a pair of third-quarter touchdowns and the Fighting Irish suffocated the high-powered Hurricanes’ offense to remain undefeated in 12 all-time games at Soldier Field in Chicago.
George Atkinson III rushed for a game-high 123 yards on 10 carries while Wood added 118 on the ground as Notre Dame (5-0) remained the only FBS team that has yet to trail at any point this season.
Miami (4-2), which was coming off consecutive games in which it surpassed 600 total yards and averaged 43 points, had its opportunities to jump ahead early, but Phillip Dorsett dropped a pair of potential touchdown catches on the Hurricanes' first drive. Those missed opportunities gave Notre Dame’s dominant defense – which was allowing only nine points per game entering this contest – the time it needed to adjust.
After Kyle Brindza hit a pair of short field goals to give Notre Dame a 13-3 lead at the break, the Irish turned to their ground game. In the third quarter, they gouged an exhausted Miami defense for 196 rushing yards and three touchdowns, including 2- and 3-yard touchdown runs from Wood and a 55-yard score from Atkinson.
Stephen Morris finished with 201 yards passing to lead the Hurricanes, who surrendered 376 yards rushing and were outgained 587-285.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame improved to 10-0-2 all-time at Soldier Field and is off to its best start since beginning the 2002 season with eight straight victories. … The last time the Irish managed to go five games without trailing was 1947, when they won their third of 11 national championships. … Notre Dame, which holds a 17-7-1 record against Miami, handed the Hurricanes their worst loss in this series since a 48-10 rout in 1977.