Notre Dame entered Saturday needing a statement win over Miami to strengthen its College Football Playoff resume after being left out of last season's 12-team field because of a head-to-head tiebreaker loss to the Hurricanes.

Mission accomplished.

The Fighting Irish held off a late Miami rally, getting a game-clinching stop and takeaway on the Hurricanes' final possession to secure a 31-24 win at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. As Jaiden Ausberry recovered a Leonard Moore-forced fumble to end the game, fans stormed the field to celebrate Notre Dame's biggest victory of the season.

The win provides Notre Dame with its first ranked win of the season after the Fighting Irish fell short of securing that feat on Oct. 17 against BYU.

"I'm happy for this university. I'm happy for these players. There's a lot of support from Notre Dame Nation. This is a special moment for them," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said on NBC. "I'm so happy for our players because they've put a lot of work to achieve this.

"They're a dang good football team, and they beat a dang good football team."

Notre Dame withstood Miami's 21-14 edge in the second half behind a strong opening half from CJ Carr and a defense that limited Darian Mensah and the Hurricanes to just three first half points.

Speaking of Carr, he finished 29-of-40 passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He did not turn the ball over; his fifth straight game with no interceptions thrown.

With its win, which moves Freeman's squad to 8-1 on the season, Notre Dame is also expected to move up a few spots in the next installment of the CFP rankings on Tuesday after debuting right in front of the cut line for the 12-team CFP bracket at the No. 11 seed.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Notre Dame knocks off Miami. Fans storm field after Fighting Irish win