Miami's Stephen Morris looks as the scoreboard towards the end of the fourth quarter of the University of Miami game against Notre Dame at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday, Oct. 6. Photo by Al Diaz / The Miami Herald

The Hurricanes missed a big chance in the first series.

They had no chance in the second half.

Miami’s defense played as poorly as advertised, its offense that previously flourished the past two games fizzled, and No.9 Notre Dame relied on its running game to score four touchdowns in the second half Saturday and defeat the Hurricanes 41-3 at Soldier Field.

“No excuses,” UM coach Al Golden said. “We lost our poise at times. We didn’t play well enough in this environment against a really good team, and that’s my fault. I’ve got to get it fixed.”

Once again, UM’s defense was overmatched and overpowered. Notre Dame had two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since 2002 and gained 587 total yards, the most since 2005.