MIAMI GARDENS — The revelation is as electric as CJ Daniels’ one-handed catch, the message as welcome as Carter Davis’ winning field goal.
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The Miami Hurricanes are as good as anyone in college football.
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Not in three weeks if they beat Florida. Not in January if everything comes together for them. Here. Now. Sunday night. They showed with a 27-24 win against Notre Dame they’re starting to spread their wings and are ready to play with anyone.
It wasn’t perfect or always pretty. It caused more nail-biting at the end than probably necessary. But that was sixth-ranked Notre Dame on the other side. That was the team that left Hard Rock Stadium seven months ago advancing to the national championship game.
And on a night where Miami lost a 21-7 lead, where Notre Dame scored 17 fourth-quarter points to tie it 24-24, the Hurricanes didn’t lose their composure or their way in the manner they have for so many years.
Instead, they pushed and fought and finally outmuscled Notre Dame to the finish. There’s something else they haven’t done much for years.
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Did you see this offense convert a must-have, third-and-2 from the Notre Dame 39-yard line? Marty Brown ran for 3 yards behind Miami’s best offensive line in decades. You can question why they kept running it from there, and running it in conservative fashion, until Davis ended any discussion by making a 47-yard field goal for the winning points.
Then, with 64 seconds still left, the defensive line closed out the game in the manner that again showed how good it can be. Back-to-backs sacks. The clock ran out.
That’s how you win big games. That resulted in a rare sight: Coach Mario Cristobal with a smile on his face.
“I’d never seen him excited,’’ receiver Malachi Toney said.
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Opening night, you see, opened more than eyes. It opened a window for contending on a national scale after years of waiting and wondering about this program. No. 2 Ohio State was impressive against No. 1 Texas. No. 9 LSU beat No. 4 Clemson. Florida State will join the ranked after beating No. 8 Alabama.
Miami’s win belongs right in there for what it means. Carson Beck, the former Georgia quarterback, did everything asked in his first Miami start, completing 20 of 31 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s despite Beck practicing in this offense for just the last five weeks. That’s against the best defense they’re scheduled to face this year. That’s not even what everyone left the night talking about, too. Two plays highlighted the talent level of this team:
1. Daniels made a one-handed snag of a 20-yard touchdown with 12 seconds before half that otherwise would’ve been a Notre Dame interception. The catch was so good the referees needed a replay confirmation before it became Miami 14-7 at half.
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“It was see-ball, get-ball,’’ Daniels said. “I went up there with a purpose.”
2. Bain, all 6-3 and 270 pounds, came sprinting after a receiver screen in the fourth quarter rand suddenly saw a thrice-deflected ball there for him to jump up and intercept. He returned it 12 yards to the Notre Dame 28. That set up a field goal that made it 24-14.
“Why didn’t you score?” defensive line coach Jason Taylor, who scored a few like that, joked with Bain. Or half-joked.
Miami did plenty to announce itself this night. It out-rushed a Notre Dame team built on the rush, 119-93. Its defense created two Notre Dame turnovers and its offense had none. It could have run away after opening the second half with a 75-yard drive that made it 21-7.
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That would have been impressive. But how they won by not folding up, by getting the winning field goal on offense and closing out the night on defense was impressive in another way.
Throw Miami in that small group of teams that thinks it should play in the deepest part of January. There are questions still about them. There always are after the first game.
But what a game it was. What a win. It’s early with the calendar just flipping from August to September. But it’s not too early after Sunday night to say Miami can be as good as any team in the country.
