Notre Dame football: 5 final thoughts from the Irish win over No. 1 Miami

The Brief Skip Holtz, son of legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, called his shot. "I think this team is capable of winning the national championship," Holtz said. He was vindicated a few hours later when Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami 31-24. Here are five final thoughts from that Irish win over the Hurricanes. Skip Holtz, son of legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, was complimentary of how the university treated his family leading up to a game that was meant to honor his dad. He then made a statement. "I think this team is capable of winning the national championship," Holtz said. "I think the right person is at the helm. I love Marcus Freeman. I love this football team. I love the heart, the energy, the soul that they play with." Holtz was vindicated a few hours later when Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami 31-24. Here are five final thoughts from that Irish win over the Hurricanes. CJ Carr is arriving When Notre Dame needed it most, the Irish got their best game from quarterback CJ Carr. His 319 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, or negative play for that matter, were paramount in how the Irish took a 24-3 lead and put up a critical fourth-quarter touchdown. Notre Dame’s quarterback completed 72.5 percent of his throws. His ability to read defenses was never better, even if Miami’s was suspect to begin with. Don’t look now, but the Irish quarterback is atop the Heisman Trophy leaderboards. He’s arriving at his peak at arguably the perfect time for Notre Dame. He just needs to stay healthy and keep the production going. This was the game ND prepared for through the portal This offseason, Notre Dame’s portal investments weren’t to find a starting wide receiver or to find a starting quarterback. The Irish built depth. That paid off on Saturday. For much that was made about Malachi Toney’s absence, the Irish were down cornerback DK McKinney, safety Braunte Johnson and linebacker Drayk Bowen. That three defensive starters against a top-rated Miami defense. Factor in the losses of defensive tackles Francis Brewu and Jason Onye, you can make that five impact defensive players. The Irish didn’t blink. Instead, they rode Armel Mukam, Tionne Gray and Jayden Sanders in the win over Miami. Mukam wasn’t a portal add per se, but he did enter the portal out of Notre Dame before coming back. Gray plugged the gaps in the trenches. Sanders filled in for McKinney. Notre Dame’s depth was a part of the team that got better in the offseason. It shined against No. 1. Elija Lofton’s drop would’ve been a catch in my eyes, but… His momentum continued out of bounds, which led to the bobble and Talich’s critical pass break up. If Lofton just caught the pass and stuck it like a gymnast, that would have been a touchdown. The issue was the momentum Lofton created when he was going out of bounds. Creating that momentum started the whole "process of the catch" thing. That means Lofton had to secure the ball the entire way. In Notre Dame’s case, safety Luke Talich, who displayed unbelievable effort to play through the whistle and stick with Lofton, got his arm in there to break up the pass. That’s just my interpretation. Aneyas Williams had the unsung play of the day Late in the first half, Carr had his Houndini play where he backed out of the pocket and drifted back before finding running back Aneyas Williams for a first down to kick start a drive that made it a 17-3 Notre Dame lead at halftime. Williams had the unsung hero play of the day here. Roll the clip back to the snap. Miami sends a blitz at the start of the game. Williams picks up the blitz, getting just enough to allow Carr to roll back and out of the pocket. Williams got back up and went out to be in perfect position to catch the first-down throw. It was the kind of effort that won Notre Dame the game. Understandably, it got lost in the shuffle of the Talich interception and pass break up, to go along with Carr’s big night. But the Irish got a key touchdown drive that started with Williams’ effort. This aligns Notre Dame with their program outlook It’s fair to say Notre Dame is all in with football. The university is allotting so much to its football program, it’s a wonder if other athletics teams – namely, men’s basketball – will get a chance to make an impact in the NIL era. This was an example of it all paying off. Winning over No. 1 Miami puts Notre Dame back in the national spotlight. It will probably help the Irish win a few more recruiting battles in the near and distant future. It probably lifts Notre Dame back into the playoffs. The playoffs will change from 12 teams to 24 next year. This means it will all look different, and ends the three-year, 12-team CFP era. Making the playoffs twice in the three-year, 12-team era speaks volumes to making the playoff just once in three years. That’s the investment at work. The Source: Analysis is from FOX Chicago's Chris Kwiecinski, who covered the game at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame College Football