Notre Dame Wasn’t Ready for Ball-Hawking, Chain-Wearing Miami. Is Anyone?

They’re going to need to buy more turnover chains.

One for you, and one for you, and another for you. In the first half of Saturday night’s 41–8 Miami win alone, Notre Dame threw three interceptions. The first yielded a Miami touchdown, the second a field goal. Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly yanked starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush after that with little effect, except perhaps to eliminate even the question of whether Miami would keep scoring. Backup quarterback Ian Book tossed a pick-six on his second possession. All of them were rewarded with the golden bling that has become college football’s most beloved celebration.

That was the story of the night, although Miami by no means did all of its damage on defense. In each phase of the game, the Hurricanes were the superior team, unrelenting from the opening kickoff.

Going into the game, Notre Dame’s offense was averaging nearly 500 yards per game, ranked No. 13 among FBS teams this season. But Miami had its attack figured out, whether it was Wimbush—who returned in the third quarter—or Book under center. Running back Josh Adams, who played only a quarter last week against Wake Forest due to an unspecified ailment (which involved headaches but not the concussion protocol), was back against Miami, but he spent time in the third quarter in the medical tent and did not return. Whether it was his health or Miami’s defense—the likely explanation is both—Adams wasn’t himself, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry on 16 rushes. Going into the game, Adams had been good for an average of more than 100 yards, carrying the offense on multiple occasions throughout the Irish’s 8–1 start. Without him to anchor the unit on Saturday, Notre Dame looked lost, racking up just 261 yards and struggling to find any balance on offense.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, were smothering on defense. That’s nothing new this season—Miami had the No. 12 scoring defense going into the night, having allowed an average of 17.6 points per game—but Saturday was another level. Besides those three interceptions, the Hurricanes also recovered a Notre Dame fumble and held the Irish to 6-of-16 on third-down conversions. Against the run, Miami was especially airtight, yielding just 3.0 yards per carry and just 108 yards on the ground.

Miami’s slate of victories before November looked uninspiring: A meeting with Florida State that was supposed to be the highlight of the first half of the season turned out to be a sloppy 24–20 win over a team that’s now fighting to become bowl eligible (and may not make it). It wasn’t until Nov. 4, when the Hurricanes hosted Virginia Tech and won decisively, 28–10, that they beat a ranked team. That win didn’t boost the Hurricanes’ ranking significantly—they went from No. 9 to No. 7—but it did confirm the growing suspicion that the weak schedule wasn’t the only reason Miami’s undefeated record had extended into November. After Saturday, it’s clear: Miami is a contender.

Second-year coach Mark Richt’s team went into halftime with the potential—however slight—to move into the No. 1 spot in next week’s rankings. The No. 1 team, Georgia, had already lost. No. 2 Alabama was losing to Mississippi State, and No. 3 Notre Dame was in the other locker room inside Hard Rock Stadium nursing the wounds of a 27–0 deficit. That possibility ended early in the third quarter when Alabama rallied to victory in Starkville, but Georgia’s first loss made the Hurricanes’ bid for a spot among the top four  even stronger. Finishing out the season against Virginia at home and then at Pitt, Miami should go into the ACC title game undefeated—and there’s even a (remote) chance it could fall to ACC Atlantic champion Clemson in Charlotte and still end up with a playoff spot.

Regardless of what happens down the stretch, Miami is back—and it’s fun. Blowouts can be a bore, and Saturday’s wasn’t, which is a testament to the thumping the Hurricanes put on Notre Dame, playing the kind of football that looks like it could win a couple of early-January games. 

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Texas church massacre: More victims laid to rest during Veterans Day

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS – Two silver hearses carrying the bodies of a couple killed in last weekend’s shooting at a Texas church were followed by a long procession of vehicles Saturday that avoided passing the small church where more than two dozen people died.

Mourners instead drove around the tiny community of Sutherland Springs before reaching a cemetery on the edge of town, where dozens more vehicles waited along a rural road for the private burial of Therese and Richard Rodriguez. Sheriff’s SUVs shielded mourners at the cemetery’s three entrances.

• Texas church shooting: “So many babies” among those slain in Sutherland Springs
• Texas gunman Devin Kelley’s ex-wife says he “had a lot of demons”

The services for the recently retired couple followed a ceremony earlier in the day where about 100 people gathered to commemorate Veterans Day and to honor the shooting victims, nearly half of whom had ties to the Air Force.

“Maybe this will start the healing process that will get Sutherland Springs and Wilson County to put this horrific tragedy behind us and look to the future,” county Judge Richard Jackson, his voice breaking, told the crowd, which included first responders and law enforcement officers.

Jackson, the county’s top administrator, thanked the first responders and others who rushed to First Baptist Church in the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting. What they saw there will affect them the rest of their lives, Jackson said during the ceremony outside the town’s community center, where a wreath was placed near flags to remember those killed.

• Link seen between domestic violence and mass killings

The gunman killed 25 people — authorities put the number at 26 because one was pregnant — and wounded about 20 others. The gunman died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being shot and chased by two men who heard gunfire from the church.

Investigators have said the shooting appeared to stem from a domestic dispute involving the attacker, Devin Patrick Kelley, and his mother-in-law, who sometimes attended services at the church but wasn’t there the day of the shooting. Kelley had a history of domestic violence: He was given a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force after pleading guilty to assaulting his first wife and stepson.

The church’s steward Rod Green and his wife Judy had run-ins with Kelley before the massacre, CBS News Omar Villafranca reports.

“He was a very evil person. A very crazy person,” Rod told CBS News. “His actions were sporadic. He bragged about being armed.”

Villafranca reports that when Kelley showed up to the First Baptist Fall Festival last month, Rod kept an eye on him looking to see if he was carrying a gun. Judy remembers being alarmed because Kelley had a strange, vacant look.

“I was scared for all our family and all the people there within the hall … and I was praying, ‘Don’t let anything happen,’” Judy said.

Villafranca also met Mike Ritch — in nearby city Adkins — who helped his fellow Texans after Hurricane Harvey devastated the state.

When the unthinkable happened in Sutherland Springs, Ritch didn’t think twice about volunteering in the aftermath of the shooting.

“When disasters strikes or a tragedy happens, you have two choices,” he told CBS News. “You can either sit around and wait for help to arrive or you can roll up your sleeves and make it happen … we rolled up our sleeves.”

Adkins held a barbecue to benefit Sutherland Springs. Villafranca says people from as far away as Georgia and Washington were helping the community. Organizers say 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the victims’ families and the church.

Sutherland Springs is about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio and not far from several military posts, including Lackland Air Force Base. The Air Force’s chief of staff, Gen. David Goldfein, said 12 of those killed were either members of the Air Force or had family ties to it.

Among them were Scott and Karen Marshall, both 56, who had decided to retire in nearby La Vernia after meeting when they were in the service together more than 30 years ago. On Thursday, a military funeral was held for them at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.

Retired Chief Warrant Officer Mike Gonzales, who led Saturday’s Veterans Day ceremony, moved to Sutherland Springs with his wife to raise their children in 2009. He said many veterans choose to live in the San Antonio area because of its deep military ties, and families tend to migrate to the city’s surrounding rural areas.

“We come here to enjoy life, to get quiet and to raise our children,” he said. “We’ve been to war zones and seen that tragedy firsthand. Never did we think that tragedy would strike here.”

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar told the gathering to lean on one another for support. The Texas congressman said $10 million in federal assistance has been secured to help cover overtime costs for law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation.

Some in the crowd Saturday wore shirts that said “Sutherland Springs Strong” and included an outline of Texas with a heart of the town’s location. The shirts were donated by Brenda Bierd, who lives on the Gulf Coast and whose home was damaged by Hurricane Harvey in late August.

“I hadn’t even heard of Sutherland Springs before the shooting, but this is what you do,” she said. “I just had this feeling I needed to be here.”

A steady stream of people also visited a makeshift memorial of crosses adorned with flowers, photographs, red hearts and white, purple and pink balloons.

Among the visitors was Jackie Lee, who said she asked her friends on Facebook if anyone would come with her from San Antonio this weekend. She said about two dozen people quickly said they would.

“It was on my heart since it happened,” she said. “I needed to come to show the community some support, to show these people some support.”

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