Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539676
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 27, 2025 23 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: A+ What is as close to perfection as it gets? CJ Carr versus Purdue. The redshirt freshman quarterback completed 10 of 12 passes for 223 yards with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. One of those scores was the very first play of the game, a 66-yard perfectly placed heave deep downfield to graduate senior wide receiver Malachi Fields. The other was a 48-yarder to junior Jordan Faison on which Carr smartly checked into an out-and-up because the Purdue corner began to bite on the out as the game went on. When Faison went up, it was game over for the Boilermakers on that particular play. Another absolute dime from Carr. Outside of one lapse from sophomore left tackle Anthonie Knapp, letting a defender go right around him and sack Carr, who lost a fumble on the play, there wasn't anything wrong with the Irish passing attack. And for as long as Carr looks the way he did, Notre Dame will keep receiving great grades for the passing offense. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: A+ Is it possible Carr played a near perfect game and was still outdone by Notre Dame running back duo Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price? Why yes. Yes, it is. Love carried 19 times for 157 yards and 2 touch- downs. Price went for 74 yards and 3 touchdowns on 9 carries. The efficiency and effectiveness of those two was absolutely unreal. The Fighting Irish offensive line blocked with a purpose. So did the wide receivers. Then it was up to Love and Price to do their thing, and they did. When you hear head coach Marcus Freeman talk about wanting to win games up front and with a brute-force type of rushing attack, this is one of the games he should point to as a prime example. And again, it helps having the best running back tandem in college football. NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: D- The Fighting Irish came away with two intercep- tions. There you have it. Just about the only good thing that came out of this game when Purdue went to pass except for a pair of sacks as well. Reality is, the Boilermakers carved up a porous defense in a very similar manner to the way in which Texas A&M did the week prior. Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne completed 21 of 34 passes for 250 yards with a touchdown. Heck, he even caught a touchdown pass from running back Devin Mockobee. With most of Notre Dame's starters still in, espe- cially in the secondary, backup quarterback Mala- chi Singleton completed 3-of-4 passes for 39 yards and a touchdown. The Irish aren't any good at defending the pass right now. Period. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: B+ Purdue's top tailback, Devin Mockobee, had 12 carries for 16 yards. That's called getting com- pletely stymied. Overall, Purdue ran 28 times for 76 yards and 0 touchdowns. If there is anything for this side of the ball to hang its hat on, it's being able to square up along the line of scrimmage and knock opposing rushing attacks back. Of course, this was only Purdue. But this was the better area of Notre Dame's defense in the first two games of the season, too. There is something to work with there. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: B Notre Dame missed a 31-yard field goal and allowed Purdue to convert a fake punt early in the game, but the special teams story is unequivo- cally Jadarian Price taking a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. In a game that had plenty of can- didates, that might've been the play of the game considering the circumstances of it coming pretty quickly out of a 1-hour, 54-minute weather delay. NOTRE DAME COACHING: C Give Marcus Freeman credit for acknowledging that Notre Dame won by 26 points in spite of some glaring issues that need fixing fast. And quietly, of- fensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is calling some really good football games for the Fighting Irish offense so far this season. But Freeman also admitted that Notre Dame put every coverage scheme under the sun on the field during one particular Purdue drive, the one right before halftime in which the Boilermakers scored a touchdown in spite of getting the ball back with exactly one minute on the clock, and none of them worked. The Irish are in a spot defensively in which the wheels are sputtering, heads are spinning and the situation is getting out of control. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash, with help from Freeman, needs to get a grip on it and figure out what's go- ing wrong in a hurry. REPORT CARD BY TYLER HORKA Junior cornerback Christian Gray notched one of the Fighting Irish's two interceptions, but their pass defense still left much to be desired. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER