Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539449
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 20, 2025 23 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: B Redshirt freshman CJ Carr did enough through the air to put Notre Dame in a position to win the game, but he still showed signs of being an inexperi- enced quarterback in the 41-40 loss to Texas A&M. He forced a pass to running back Jadarian Price that defensive tackle Albert Regis tipped and line- backer Scooby Williams intercepted in the second quarter. And with time about to expire in the first half, he clapped his hands in frustration, which prompted a snap from center Ashton Craig when the Irish intended to head to the locker room without a play. The offensive line did a better job of protecting Carr than it did against Miami, but he was still sacked three times. Carr finished 20-of-32 passing (62.5 percent) for 293 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Carr was hit-and-miss with redshirt senior wide receiver Malachi Fields, who caught a team-high 5 passes for 77 yards on 11 targets. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: B The Irish didn't shy away from leaning on running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Love turned a career-high 23 carries into 94 yards and 1 touchdown, including a go-ahead touchdown from 12 yards out with 2:53 remaining. Price carried 12 times for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns. The running game worked best with runs that bounced outside, but that backfired when Love lost a yard on fourth-and-1 near midfield last in the third quarter. Notre Dame used a wildcat forma- tion with Love or Price taking direct snaps at times, but it wasn't particularly consistent. NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: D- An interception by sophomore cornerback Leon- ard Moore prevented the passing defense from receiving an F. That was really the only highlight for a unit that allowed quarterback Marcel Reed to complete 17 of 37 passes (45.9 percent) for 360 yards with 2 touchdowns. Notre Dame's secondary struggled so much it felt inevitable that Texas A&M would score at the end of the game. A holding penalty by junior cor- nerback Christian Gray on third-and-16 A&M extra life in the final 45 seconds. Then junior linebacker Drayk Bowen gave up inside position on an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Nate Boerkircher that proved to be the game-winner with 13 seconds left in regulation. The Irish allowed eight passing plays of at least 15 yards, half of which went for more than 30 yards each. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: B- Texas A&M running back Le'Veon Moss found the end zone three times on the ground, all in the second quarter. That's too many times for Notre Dame's defense. But the rushing defense was put into too many tough red-zone situations after so many big passing plays. The Aggies managed 130 yards on 32 carries with Moss accounting for 81 yards and 20 carries. The Irish kept Reed (7 carries for 37 yards) in check for the most part on designed runs. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: C- Special teams gave Notre Dame an early 7-0 lead when Loghan Thomas blocked Tyler White's punt and Tae Johnson returned it for a 20-yard score to end Texas A&M's first drive. But special teams cost Notre Dame a chance to survive and advance to overtime when the two teams traded touchdowns at the end of the game. Notre Dame holder Tyler Buchner dropped the snap from Joseph Vinci following Love's go-ahead touchdown with less than three minutes to play. Buchner threw the ball incomplete in the direction of Preston Zinter and left the door open for A&M to put together a game-winning drive. Kicker Noah Burnette (2 of 2 on field goals) and punter James Rendell (two punts inside A&M's 20- yard line) performed well, but that didn't matter in the end. NOTRE DAME COACHING: D+ Things went so poorly for Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash that head coach Marcus Freeman was asked after the game if he needed to reconsider who was calling defensive plays. Freeman dismissed the idea, but the chatter isn't going to go away after two disappointing defensive performances to start Ash's Notre Dame tenure. Freeman was aggressive with fourth-down at- tempts, and he looked smart when Love's go- ahead touchdown followed a fourth-and-1 conver- sion. But the inability to find an answer on defense will haunt the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock had a bet- ter night than he did against Miami, but he still had some head-scratching moments. The wildcat for- mation was so polarizing in Notre Dame Stadium that the crowd groaned when it was used late in the fourth quarter. REPORT CARD BY TYLER JAMES Junior running back Jeremiyah Love turned a career-high 23 carries into 94 yards and 1 touchdown, plus added 4 receptions for 53 yards and 1 score. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER