No. 1 Miami dodges upset, looks ahead to No. 5 Notre Dame - ESPN

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Miami edge rusher Marquise Lightfoot was trying to explain why his defense struggled to get off the field Saturday in a painfully close 38-35 win over North Carolina, summing up the biggest missteps as failures of communication — particularly in a back end that has been thinned by injuries.

That, Lightfoot said, is what Miami needs to work on «preparing for the next one — for… I don't know who we have.»

Wait, really?

Lightfoot, whose strip sack of Billy Edwards Jr. in the fourth quarter was the turning point in a back-and-forth game, insisted he has been so myopic in his 1-0 approach to each game that he had no clue which team was up next on the docket.

The rest of the college football world is well aware though. That would be Notre Dame.

«Oh,» Lightfoot said. «Well, it's Notre Dame then.»

He doesn't sound too concerned about the Fighting Irish.

Miami-Notre Dame has a long history of bitterness in a sparsely played rivalry, but this year's matchup comes with plenty of emotion after the Canes narrowly edged the Irish out of last year's final playoff spot on the strength of a head-to-head win that opened the 2025 season.

Now, the 2026 installment is here, and Miami isn't exactly clicking on all cylinders, despite being one of just three remaining undefeated teams — and carrying the No. 1 ranking into South Bend, Indiana, for Week 10.

Miami narrowly escaped Florida State two weeks ago after the struggling Seminoles had two potential Hail Mary completions in overtime waved off, then barely squeezed by a UNC team that put up 35 points against a power-conference opponent for the first time under Bill Belichick. Edwards threw four touchdown passes, and the Heels came within inches of recovering a late onside