Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539020
24 SEPT. 13, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT Notre Dame had a chance to go into half- time with the score tied. Or, maybe even with the lead if the Fighting Irish could stop the Miami offense with five minutes remain- ing in the second quarter. They could not. Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck or- chestrated a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by one of the best catches you might see all year in college football by sixth-year senior wide receiver CJ Daniels. He one-handed an overthrown ball by Beck in between a Notre Dame cornerback and safety for a 20-yard score. Miami went into halftime leading, 14-7. Coming out of the locker room, Beck did it again. He put together a 12-play, 75-yard possession that took up over half the quar- ter and resulted in a 5-yard rushing touch- down and 21-7 advantage for the home side. It was an uphill battle for Notre Dame from then on. STATS OF THE GAME Notre Dame actually led Miami in yards per play (5.4 to 4.7), yards per rush (3.3 to 3.1) and yards per completion (11.6 to 10.2). Miami afforded itself 11 more total offen- sive plays, though, 69 to 58. The Hurricanes moved the chains two more times than the Irish, 20 first downs to 18, and possessed the ball for nearly eight more minutes, 33:57 to 26:03. Miami proved raw totals and averages don't have to be pretty to win a big football game. The Hurricanes only outgained the Irish by 10 yards, 324 to 314. They simply had more opportunities to put points on the board because of a few sustained drives, and in the end that's exactly what the Canes did — scored three more points than Notre Dame. That's the way football goes. WHAT ABOUT OFFENSIVE DEPTH? So much for that deep running back room. And so much for Notre Dame being Tight End University. Sophomore tailback Aneyas Williams was on the field for one offensive snap. Senior tight end Eli Raridon was the only Irish tight end to receive a snap. He was out there for a bunch of them. Too many, perhaps. Notre Dame rotated plenty on defense, but an offense that was clunky from the start was overly reliant on a set, small group of personnel. It's going to take way more of a diverse team effort to beat Texas A&M and get back into the national conversation from a positive perspective. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TYLER HORKA QB CJ CARR The redshirt freshman made a few mistakes in his first career start, but showed why head coach Marcus Freeman picked him in the quarterback competition. He showed poise in making timely throws, and he showed toughness with an underestimated running ability. Carr made a play out of bad situation on his first touchdown pass in the second quarter. Then he helped Notre Dame erase a 21-7 deficit with his arm and legs. Carr finished 19-of-30 passing for 221 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception on a deflected pass. He finished with only 16 net rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 11 carries, but those numbers were wrecked by 3 sacks in the fourth quarter. DE BOUBACAR TRAORE Notre Dame's defensive line play didn't match expectations against the run or pass, but the redshirt sopho- more was the bright spot in the front four. In his first game back from a season-ending ACL injury last year, he finished third on the team with 6 tackles and recorded the lone sack for the Irish. Traore stuffed a third-and-2 run for no gain in the first quarter, which forced a Miami punt. His sack of quarterback Carson Beck in the fourth quarter forced another punt. He even pressured Beck into a dangerous throw late in the first half, but wide receiver CJ Daniels made an incredible one-handed catch for a touchdown to waste Traore's pressure. WR JORDAN FAISON Notre Dame tried to establish its passing game with short throws to the junior, and it had some success early. But it proved to be too predictable when Carr threw short to Faison in the fourth quarter. Miami de- fensive back Damari Brown read the play and started a series of deflections that ended in an interception for defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. Nonetheless, Faison totaled 5 catches for 33 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. He also returned a couple of punts for 9 yards. GAME BALLS BY TYLER JAMES Junior wide receiver Jordan Faison reeled in 5 receptions for 33 yards and 1 touchdown against the Hurricanes. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP