Blue and Gold Illustrated

45-3 Sept. 27, 2025 Purdue

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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30 SEPT. 27, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On the pass defense's issues through three games: "When we do pressure and we bring five, we can't allow the quarterback to sit back there, especially in man cov- erage, or somebody will be coming open. "We have to do a better job mar- rying up our coverage and our front, and make sure if we're going to play coverage, we're going to play with seven guys in coverage, then four guys are going to have to get some type of pressure on the quarterback. But also, we have to understand, 'OK, we might have to cover a little bit longer.'" On his advice for the defense out of the lightning delay: "You can't do somebody else's job. You can't try to make a play. You just gotta trust your technique and do your job and win that play." On defensive players appearing to be upset at each other between plays: "I don't know if there was confusion. It wasn't much confusion when I was on the headset with them. … Maybe what you're seeing is frustration. And I don't want our guys to be animated. I don't want to be animated, but I am too sometimes. "I've got to be better as the leader, and they've got to be better, because you can't let your frustration when a team is moving the ball turn into actions that look like you're blaming somebody else." On Notre Dame winning its first game of the 2025 sea- son: "As I told the guys in the locker room, 'This is why you work hard. This is why you spend a lot of hours trying to come up with a plan that you're able to find a way to be victorious. You got to enjoy it and celebrate it. If you don't, it's going to be a miserable, miserable profession for coaches, but also the game for young people.'" On what this team needs that might be different from previous ones: "There were times of challenging them. … It was a realistic understanding that, 'Stop making yourself feel better by saying we're four points away from being 2-0.' Or we're close. We're 0-2. You have to say that to them so they embrace it and understand the work they have to put in. "That's what they needed at this moment: To be challenged and understand, 'Hey, our backs were against the wall. How are we going to fight and get out of this?'" NOTRE DAME REDSHIRT JUNIOR RUNNING BACK JADARIAN PRICE … On his 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown: "It felt good, especially because the first one that I returned ear- lier in the game, I was pretty close. I had one guy to beat, and I would've scored. So I owed them one on the second one." On taking a page out of Audric Estimé's book with a touchdown immediately a f te r a wea t h e r d e l ay : "That's funny you bring that up. That's all we were talking about during the delay. We were like, 'Remember when Audric scored that [touch- down at North Carolina State in 2023]?' "I will say, I did not have a hot dog like he did, so it's not the exact same. But it brought back memories, for sure." NOTRE DAME REDSHIRT FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK CJ CARR … On his 66-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior wide receiver Malachi Fields on Notre Dame's first of- fensive play of the game: "It's great. It's great. We knew we were gonna get quarters at some point in that game. We had some shots dialed up early. They came out there and the boundary safety was low, six or seven yards, and the field safety was kind of in the run fit. "Play action off of it, felt the safety bite down, and then you're not gonna catch Malachi Fields in open space." NOTRE DAME FRESHMAN CORNERBACK DALLAS GOLDEN … On what he learned from defensive backs coach Mike Mickens and injured starter DeVonta Smith (ankle) about playing nickel: "Really everything, from tackling to guarding people. From the D-tackles to the linebackers to the safeties to the corners, they all helped me figure out the scheme. We went over it in practice, we went over it over and over again until I understood and they talk to me about every single thing I do." On how the defense makes sure it's on the same page: "We practice it all week. We really preach communication, and it has us play faster. We just gotta execute what we com- municate." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER JORDAN FAISON … On his confidence: "For sure, you gotta play with confi- dence. You gotta go out and play hard. If you're not the ham- mer, you're gonna be the nail. You're gonna get hit, so you have to be the first one delivering that blow." FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Head coach Marcus Freeman guided the Fighting Irish to their 10th straight victory over the Boilermakers. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER

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