Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539020
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 13, 2025 13 UNDER THE DOME PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER "[Notre Dame's JEREMIYAH] LOVE is far and away the best back in the class. Probably in college, period. At least on offense, he holds the largest gap between prospect No. 1 and prospect No. 2 at any position." — An anonymous NFL general manager via ESPN Irish On Social Media THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "This is great news for Notre Dame fans. This is great because last year, if you look at what Riley Leonard was, he was terrific. He did everything you could have asked for from the quarterback spot. But, essentially, he was a game manager. Now you have a quarterback in CJ Carr who can quite literally take the game over with his arm. He is really, really talented. "Now, with that talent comes inexperience. And there was some buzz throughout camp that he was making some poor decisions that led to some inter- ceptions. And Marcus Freeman, being a defensive head coach, knows that's not the way you're going to win games. Not at the highest level of the sport. "It sounds like he's cleaned those things up enough to the point that he can be named the starter. This is a great sign for what could come for an improved passing offense this year for the Irish." — Greg McElroy of ESPN on redshirt fresh- man CJ Carr winning the starting quarterback job "This is one of those seasons that just feels like we don't know anything. But Notre Dame feels like one of the surer things, which is interesting because they are breaking in a new starting quarterback and we don't really know how that's gonna look. "But we do know they're going to have one of the best offensive lines in college football. Jeremiyah Love is probably the best back in college football. And I think the receivers you're gonna see them — Jaden Greathouse, you saw toward the end of the playoff like really step up. I do think you're gonna see a more dynamic version of the Notre Dame offense even though you got a new quarterback." — Andy Staples of On3 on Notre Dame's season outlook "Beating Texas A&M in College Station was one the of the keys to Notre Dame maintaining its posi- tion in the rankings as it rebuilt its profile week-by- week in the wake of the upset loss to Northern Illi- nois. That same value will be hanging in the balance for both teams in South Bend as the Aggies look to pick up the impressive nonconference win they missed out on in 2024, while Notre Dame will either be surging out of a win at Miami in Week 1 or look- ing to bounce back after falling to the Hurricanes. "Notre Dame's playoff outlook will be influenced significantly by these Week 1 and Week 3 games, and playing at home will make the result a tone- setter heading into the rest of their schedule." — Chip Patterson of CBS Sports on Notre Dame's most important game with CFP implications being Week 3 versus Texas A&M "Notre Dame lost Al Golden and replaced him with an Al Golden clone. In all seriousness, Ash and Golden followed eerily similar paths to the Fighting Irish. Both are former college head coaches that didn't quite work out, and both spent several years in the NFL before moving back down to coach at Notre Dame. "Prior to his hiring at Notre Dame in 2022, Golden hadn't served as a collegiate defensive coordinator since 2001. Ash hasn't held a DC post since 2020 when he led Texas' defense for a season. Regardless, the Golden hire certainly worked out for Notre Dame, and coach Marcus Freeman has a knack for identify- ing effective assistants, so the outlook is positive for Ash." — Will Backus of CBS Sports on college football coordinator hires that could impact the 2025 season "I haven't had a chance to talk to him one-on-one. I've seen him around, as far as on television. And I love the attitude that he has for Notre Dame. And even though he was at Ohio State, now he's at Notre Dame. We have to embrace him because he's our coach. "I had this thing on the wall that said, 'The Lord is my shepherd, but Lou Holtz is my coach.' And hope- fully they'll say about Coach Freeman that he's our savior. He's going to bring it back to the promised land." — Former Notre Dame national champion QB Tony Rice on head coach Marcus Freeman "Notre Dame doesn't have to join a conference now, ever. Because all they have to do is go 10-2, and they're going to be in the playoffs because they're a brand. … They're playing USC, but that's going away. They're not playing Michigan. They're gonna play some ACC schedule teams. 10-2 seems pretty reasonable every year for Notre Dame." — Dan Patrick on Notre Dame's annual path to the College Football Playoff