Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540095
28 OCT. 11, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED "When you have the two best running backs in the country, it's hard to be wrong in the run game," Carr said. "There's a bunch of plays where Jeremiyah and JD [Price] — maybe the play isn't blocked perfectly well, or we don't have the per- fect call against the defense. A normal day, that's going to be a three-yard gain, and you go back and you try and fix it. "But with those guys, they're going to make three guys miss, and it's going to be a 7-yard gain or JD's gonna break the last one for 90. It's great." — Tyler James MARCUS FREEMAN SORTING THROUGH SPECIAL TEAMS OPTIONS Maybe James Rendell can learn to kick field goals for Notre Dame? For the previous two games, the 25-year-old Australian import wasn't doing much of anything. The Irish didn't ever trot him onto the field in a 56-30 scorefest with Purdue Sept. 20, and the next week at Arkansas, the former Aus- tralian Rules Football player served only as a decoy on a successful fake punt. Finally, in a 28-7 defense-dominated win by the 21st-ranked Irish over Boise State at Notre Dame Stadium, Rendell actually punted three times — for a 44.3-yard average. As for the field goals? The player expected to kick them for Notre Dame this season, North Carolina graduate transfer Noah Burnette, missed a game for the second time in three weeks with a hip injury. Plan B, fresh- man Erik Schmidt, had his first and only point-after try blocked by the Broncos, and he didn't get a chance to try a field goal, nor any additional point-after tries. The Irish went for two after their sec- ond touchdown, to make the score 14-7. Junior walk-on Marcello Diomede then came in to kick the next two after Notre Dame's other two touchdowns. "Yes, it factors into the fourth-down decisions," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said of Burnette being out, and the Irish were 0 of 2 when they went for it against Boise State. Junior running back Jeremiyah Love got stuffed for a 1-yard loss on fourth- and-goal from the 1-yard line on the first Irish offensive possession of the game. That would have been an 18-yard field goal try, shorter than an extra point. Later, Freeman turned down the thought of trying a 45-yarder on fourth-and-8 from the Boise State 28. Carr ended up overthrowing a wide- open Will Pauling on the play. Notre Dame has attempted just four field goals in five games this season and none longer than 39. Burnette is 3 of 3. Schmidt missed his only attempt, a 31-yarder versus Purdue. NOTRE DAME VS. BOISE STATE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 7:21 7:23 6:11 3:19 14:44 9:30 24:14 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 1-2 1-2 0-1 3-6 1-3 4-9 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-2 Average Field Position ND-33 ND-31 ND-29 ND-33 ND-32 ND-32 ND-32 Boise State 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 7:39 7:37 8:49 11:41 15:16 20:30 35:46 Third-Down Conversions 0-2 3-5 3-4 0-4 3-7 3-8 6-15 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-3 0-0 1-3 1-3 Average Field Position BSU-14 BSU-23 BSU-25 BSU-26 BSU-19 BSU-25 BSU-22 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND BSU Nega ve 8 4 0-5 23 38 6-9 8 15 10-19 9 9 20-29 4 1 30-39 1 0 40-49 1 0 50 or more 0 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 4 3 0 1 Boise State 1 1 0 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 2-7 ND34 Love rush for 36 yards to BSU30 • 1-10 ND42 Carr rush for 28 yards to BSU30 • 2-7 BSU49 Price rush for 49 yards and a touchdown Boise State • 1-10 ND48 Madsen pass to Marshall for 28 yards to ND20 • 1-10 BSU47 Madsen pass to Wagner for 28 yards to ND25 Head coach Marcus Freeman's team has attempted just four field goals in five games this season and none longer than 39, due in large part to an injury that has sidelined No. 1 kicker Noah Burnette for two of the last three games. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER