Luke Talich gave Notre Dame the signature win the College Football Playoff’s selection committee asked of the Fighting Irish.

The defensive back made a crucial third-quarter interception and then made an even bigger pass breakup in the end zone with less than four minutes to go in the fourth quarter as No. 11 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami 31-24.

Miami QB Darian Mensah appeared to find TE Elija Lofton in the end zone for what could have been a game-tying TD with 3:36 to go. But as Lofton got both of his feet down in bounds, Talich knocked the ball out of Lofton’s hands as he stepped out of bounds.

After Notre Dame took over on downs, the Irish punted the ball back to Miami with just over a minute to go. However, Miami’s comeback attempt effectively ended on its first play of the drive when Darian Mensah got sacked.

In the third quarter, Talich blunted a Miami comeback attempt that started to look very real. Notre Dame went up 24-3 early in the third quarter, but the Hurricanes cut the lead to seven and had the ball near midfield with the chance to tie the game at 24-24.

Instead, Talich jumped in front of a pass intended for Lofton and snagged the interception.

A few plays later, CJ Carr found a wide-open Nolan James Jr. on fourth down for a 36-yard catch-and-run to set up a James TD run that put Notre Dame back up two touchdowns.