Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 18, 2025 23 -14 Rushing yards credited to North Caro- lina State quarterback CJ Bailey. He was sacked 4 times for 32 yards. But even on his actual rushing attempts, Notre Dame held the 6-6 athletic signal-caller in check. 0 Times Wolfpack entered the red zone versus the Notre Dame defense. The Wolfpack's only touchdown came on a 45-yard touchdown in the second quarter. 3.8 Yards per carry for NC State running back Hollywood Smothers, who went into the game averaging 6.9 yards per rush. Notre Dame held him to 46 yards on 12 attempts. 4.5 Sacks for Notre Dame redshirt sopho- more defensive end Boubacar Traore during the Fighting Irish's four-game winning streak. He had 2 versus the Wolfpack. 5 First-half catches for Notre Dame senior tight end Eli Raridon. A Fighting Irish player hadn't had 5 catches in a first half since running back Kyren Williams had that many in the first half of the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup versus Alabama in the 2020 season. 6.8 Yards per play for the Notre Dame of- fense. If that was a season-long average in 2024, the Irish would have had the nation's No. 7 offense in that statistical category. 7 Interceptions for the Notre Dame defense in the last two games. The total for the season is up to 11, which was the nation's leading number going into Week 7. The Irish could have a chance to contend for the top spot in the second half of the season. 8.8 Average yards gained for Notre Dame on 33 first-down plays against the Wolfpack. Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr completed 9 of 12 throws for 195 yards on first down. 16 Big plays for the Notre Dame offense. Big plays are defined as passing plays that go for at least 15 yards and rushing plays that go for at least 10. The Irish had 11 of the former and 5 of the latter. 18 Yards per completion for Carr. He threw for 342 yards on 19 completions to five different targets. 32 Career touchdowns for Notre Dame run- ning back Jeremiyah Love after he scored two vs. NC State. That puts him in a tie with Marc Edwards for eighth in all-time Fighting Irish history. He could conceivably rise as high as No. 3 in Notre Dame history; if he got to 40 by the end of the season, he'd pass Jerome Bettis (39) for that spot. 100 Or more yards receiving for two Notre Dame pass catchers — Raridon with 109 on 7 receptions and redshirt senior wide re- ceiver Will Pauling with 105 on 4 catches — in the same game for the first time since the Fiesta Bowl in the 2021 season. Tight end Eli Raridon had 109, and wide receiver Will Pauling had 105. 300 Passing yards for redshirt freshman CJ Carr for the second time this season. With his 342 versus NC State, he became the first Notre Dame quarterback with multiple 300-plus- yard passing games in the same season since Jack Coan in 2021. 1,622 Passing yards for Carr this sea- son. It's the most passing yards for a Fighting Irish quarterback through the first six games of a season since Everett Golson had 1,683 in 2014. BY THE NUMBERS BY TYLER HORKA 329 Is the number of carries it took JEREMIYAH LOVE to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. Only three running backs in Notre Dame carries have needed fewer rushing attempts to reach that milestone; Georgia Gipp (304 in 1920), Josh Adams (313 in 2017) and Emil Sitko (313 in 1949). PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER