Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539887
28 OCT. 4, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED defenders were more than happy to fire them up. Safeties Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson lingered between the hashes for a few extra moments, taking the crowd's dis- approval with their team's 42-13 deficit. Shuler, Johnson and the rest of the Notre Dame defense had earned it after holding Arkansas to 13 points in the first half. That number did not change before the clock hit zero. It was a bounce-back performance for a unit that desperately needed it, after three subpar outings to open the year. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman challenged each de- fensive player to own their dif- ficult start to the season and do what it takes to fix it, and they did. "I knew the leaders on the defense wouldn't point the finger," Freeman said. "They were pointing it at themselves, and I was very confident that they would stay together." The Razorbacks entered the game averaging 8.12 yards per game; the Irish held them to 5.9. More importantly, though, they looked different. The defensive front cre- ated havoc, sacking 6-foot-6, 224-pound quarterback Tay- len Green three times. When they didn't bring Green down, they affected his throws. The secondary attacked Arkansas' receivers, undercutting them at every opportu- nity and making them feel it when they caught the ball. These were not the Notre Dame de- fensive backs of Week 1-4, sitting back in coverage and keeping the pass catch- ers across from them comfortable. The Irish drove on the football when Green threw it their way. "I think understanding what they're being asked to do," Freeman said when asked what the secondary did differ- ently. "Playing with an aggression and a hungry mentality." "Just executing the calls that Coach calls," Shuler said. "Not thinking too much and just playing fast and being violent." Shuler and Johnson led the way for the Irish with 9 and 5 tackles, respec- tively, and 1 pass broken up each. Shuler also got his hand in the midsection of Arkansas wideout Raylen Sharpe with 35 seconds left in the first half, stripping the football and giving the offense the opportunity it needed. "The whole game and the whole week, we talked about how we need to get the ball," Shuler said. "That's been ARKANSAS VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Arkansas 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 7:07 7:14 5:18 7:34 14:21 12:52 27:13 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 2-4 2-4 1-3 4-8 3-7 7-15 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-1 1-2 0-0 1-3 1-3 Average Field Position ARK-25 ARK-25 ARK-32 ARK-25 ARK-25 ARK-30 ARK-26 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 7:53 7:46 9:42 7:26 15:39 17:08 32:47 Third-Down Conversions 1-1 2-3 1-3 2-3 3-4 3-6 6-10 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 1-1 1-1 2-2 Average Field Position ND-26 ND-33 ND-19 ND-31 ND-31 ND-25 ND-28 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ARK ND Nega ve 4 4 0-5 37 34 6-9 8 6 10-19 6 14 20-29 5 8 30-39 1 3 40-49 0 1 50 or more 1 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Arkansas 2 1 0 1 Notre Dame 5 5 0 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 2-7 ND41 Carr pass to Love for 25 yards to ARK34 • 1-10 ND36 Carr pass to Raridon for 25 yards to ARK39 • 2-10 ARK34 Carr pass to Love for 34 yards and a touch- down • 1-10 ARK35 Carr pass to Price for 35 yards and a touch- down • 4-10 ND25 Faison pass to Fields for 40 yards to ARK35 • 3-7 ND46 Minchey pass to Jeffery for 37 yards to ARK17 Arkansas • 1-10 ARK30 Green pass to Blake for 33 yards to ND28 • 2-10 ARK25 Green rush for 54 yards to ND21 Redshirt sophomore safety Adon Shuler and the rest of the Irish defense, per head coach Marcus Freeman, played with "an aggression and a hungry mentality" against the Razorbacks. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • This game marked the first time Notre Dame and Arkansas have met on the gridiron, and the first time Notre Dame has played in the state of Arkansas. • The Fighting Irish improved to 51-27 over- all against SEC teams, including 21-9 in true road games. • The 42 points scored in the first half are tied for the third most in school history, matching last year's total from the 66-7 win at Purdue on Sept. 14, 2024. • The 420 total yards in the first half were the most in the first half for Notre Dame since the Irish had 489 in the opening half against Stanford on Sept. 29, 2018. • Junior running back Jeremiyah Love scored both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the first quarter. It's the first time Notre Dame has had someone score both a rushing and re- ceiving touchdown in the same quarter since Logan Diggs against Georgia Tech in the third quarter on Nov. 20, 2021, and the first time it's happened in the opening quarter since Kyren Williams at North Carolina on Nov. 27, 2020. • This game marked the ninth time that both Love and redshirt junior running back Jadarian Price have rushed for a touchdown in the same game, and the first time that the duo has caught and rushed for a score in the same game.