Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539449
18 SEPT. 20, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC HANSEN T here is a deluge of contextual dif- ference when you break down CJ Carr's debut as Notre Dame's starting quarterback Aug. 31 and Texas' Arch Manning 's coming-out party as a non-emergency starter a day earlier at Ohio State. But the bottom line is, in a pair of top- 10 matchups, the redshirt freshman Carr had the better day statistically in a pair of close losses. Carr completed 19 of 30 throws for 221 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception at Miami. All of which calculates to a 140.5 pass efficiency rat- ing. He also ran for a score in a 27-24 loss. Manning — in his third career start, but first as the Longhorns' designated full-time starter — fashioned a 108.6 pass efficiency rating in a 14-7 Texas loss in Columbus, Ohio. He connected on 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. A couple of former Notre Dame quar- terbacks made starting debuts at their new schools the same weekend. Steve Angeli amassed an 118.3 rating for Syra- cuse in a 45-26 loss to Tennessee, while Drew Pyne, at his fourth school — Bowl- ing Green — recorded an 117.5 versus FCS school Lafayette in a 26-7 victory. Historically, Carr was the 42nd player to start a game at quarterback in the last five decades, and the 16th sophomore academically to do so. However, Notre Dame changed this season its eons-long designation of players by class to year of eligibility. So, Carr goes into the books as a red- shirt freshman. Of the other 15 sopho- mores, 11 of them would have been clas- sified as redshirt freshmen had Notre Dame been making that distinction during that time frame. The four players making their first Notre Dame start as true sophomores were Joe Montana, Tony Rice, Rick Mirer and Tyler Buchner. Rice didn't play as a freshman in 1986, but he was snagged by a rule called Proposition 48, which no longer exists. It penalized players who didn't meet standardized entrance require- ments by taking away their freshman year of eligibility and not allowing them to practice either during that year. Rice was the last Notre Dame quar- terback to eventually win a national title (1988). And he somehow ended up with a negative pass efficiency rating (-3.20) in his first-ever start in an Irish uni- form. Debuts are often as deceiving as they are portending, but in the last five de- cades the Irish have ended up on the winning side in 31 of 42 of such games. Here's a complete list of how every quarterback that has started for the Irish in the past 51 years has performed in their Notre Dame debuts, including transfers. • CJ Carr, redshirt freshman, Aug. 31, 2025, at Miami Final Score: No. 10 Miami 27, No. 6 Notre Dame 24 Stats: 19 of 30, 221 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT (140.5 pass efficiency rating); 16 yards and 1 TD on 11 carries • Riley Leonard, senior, Aug. 31, 2024, at College Station, Texas Final Score: No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 20 Texas A&M 13 Stats: 18 of 30, 158 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (104.24 pass efficiency rating); 63 yards on 12 carries • Steve Angeli, sophomore, Dec. 29, 2023, Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas Final Score: No. 16 Notre Dame 40, No. 19 Or- egon State 8 Stats: 15 of 19, 232 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT (233.6); 27 yards on 8 carries. • Sam Hartman, sixth-year senior, Aug. 26, 2023, at Dublin, Ireland Final Score: No. 13 Notre Dame 42, Navy 3 Stats: 19 of 23, 251 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT (231.7); No rushing stats • Drew Pyne, junior, Sept. 17, 2022, at South Bend Final Score: Notre Dame 24, Cal 17 Stats: 17 of 23, 150 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT (157.4); 13 yards on 6 carries • Tyler Buchner, sophomore, Sept. 3, 2022, at Columbus, Ohio Final Score: No. 2 Ohio State 21, No. 5 Notre Dame 10 Stats: 10 of 18, 177 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (138.2); 18 yards on 11 carries • Jack Coan, fifth-year senior: Sept. 5, 2021, at Tallahassee, Fla. Final Score: No. 9 Notre Dame 41, Florida State 38 (OT) Stats: 26 of 35, 366 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT (194.1); -3 yards on 9 carries • Ian Book, sophomore: Oct. 7, 2017, at Chapel Hill, N.C. Final Score: No. 21 Notre Dame 33, North Caro- lina 10 Stats: 17 of 31, 146 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT (92.14); 45 yards on 12 carries • Brandon Wimbush, junior: Sept. 2, 2017, at South Bend Final Score: No. 24 Notre Dame 49, Temple 16 Stats: 17 of 30, 184 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT (123.52); 106 yards on 12 carries, 1 TD • DeShone Kizer, sophomore: Sept. 19, 2015, at South Bend Final Score: No. 8 Notre Dame 30, No. 14 Geor- gia Tech 22 Stats: 21 of 30, 242 yards, 1 TD, I INT (141.1); 6 yards on 5 carries • Malik Zaire, sophomore; Dec. 30, 2014, Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn. Final Score: Notre Dame 31, No. 22 LSU 28 Stats: 12 of 15, 96 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (155.76); 96 yards on 22 carries, 1 TD • Everett Golson, sophomore; Sept. 1, 2012, at Dublin, Ireland Final Score: Notre Dame 50, Navy 10 FIRST IMPRESSIONS How CJ Carr's starting debut fits contextually into Notre Dame history Redshirt freshman CJ Carr became the first Fighting Irish quarterback to compile at least 1 passing and 1 rushing touchdown in his first career start since Brandon Wimbush in 2017. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP