Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540994
24 NOV. 8, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. In A Moment When QB CJ Carr Could Have Shown His Age, He Grew Up Big Time Notre Dame treated its final impression on the College Football Playoff selection committee ahead of the first set of rankings that count a bit like a blind date. Dressed in a snazzy tuxedo … with a ketchup stain too big and too fresh to miss. And yet redshirt freshman CJ Carr, both in his poise and his production at Chestnut Hill, Mass., gave the committee something deeper to think about when it comes to assessing the AP's 12th- ranked team and how their homely 25-10 escape over Boston College plays in the big picture. His upside. His individual step forward. His ability to raise the level of those around him. Carr's bottom line included a streak of 12 straight completions in an 18-of-25 performance for 299 yards with 2 touchdowns and no turnovers. Behind the numbers, he was even more impressive. "He's ultra-talented," head coach Marcus Free- man offered after the Irish improved to 6-2 with their 10th successive victory over BC in the series. "He prepares in a way that I don't know if he can improve it. He prepares to a point that it gives him a chance to have success. He's been good at mak- ing in-game adjustments. He's got a great arm and great decision-making. "He'll be the first one to tell you that the two touchdowns were great, but there's a couple other ones that he wants back. That he wants to make those four touchdowns instead of two. And that's why I love him, because he's a competitor." And that showed up repeatedly as the host Eagles persistently threatened to turn a post-Hal- loween scare into an outright horror show and end Notre Dame's CFP aspirations before the first rankings reveal. When some of the other aspects of Notre Dame's game, especially on special teams, were scuffling and seizing against Boston College, Carr didn't succumb to the theme of the day, and instead showed leadership and poise and helped Notre Dame minimize the awkward impression it made. And hint at a much higher ceiling still ahead. 2. Erik Schmidt Needs To Be Plan A At Kicker Until Further Notice Someday it will be a trivia question: when was the last time three different kickers missed either an extra point or a field goal in the same game for the Irish? And it will sound like a trick question. And Mar- cus Freeman probably wishes it was. But in reality, it's a question the Notre Dame head coach and Irish special teams coordinator Marty Biagi need to get a handle on this week before Saturday night's home game with Navy. Intermittently injured/recovering grad transfer Noah Burnette shanked the first one, an extra point, after the first touchdown of the game. The Irish then went for two after their second touch- down, and that failed with the Irish settling for a 12-0 lead that BC eventually carved into. Next, Schmidt missed a 35-yard field goal, with plenty of leg but nowhere close to the accuracy required. Walk-on Marcello Diomede then got his turn at an extra point and missed before Schmidt finally converted a point-after try. Burnette has the experience, but not the proven health. Schmidt has the most power in his leg and deepest range. Developing him now and living with the growing pains is the best path forward. Then, if Burnette, who struggled with injuries last year, is healthy for a playoff run, have him win the job back in practice. 3. The Irish Defense Wasn't Perfect, But It Kept Punching And Counterpunching This was what defensive coordinator Chris Ash couldn't do earlier in the season that he could do versus the Eagles — constantly adapt and evolve the defensive game plan. BC got a huge lift with its in-game QB swap. And Grayson James started 16 of 18 passing, but only completed 9 of his last 19 with 2 interceptions. The Irish added 5 sacks, with a total of 12 tackles for loss, 9 QB hurries, 7 passes broken up and a third interception, when demoted starter Dylan Lonergan was still in the game. And the 12 net rushing yards allowed is the fourth-fewest given up by a Notre Dame team since 2010. 4. The Officials Struggled At Times, But Notre Dame Needs To Help Itself With Penalties The alleged Josh Burnham facemask penalty aside — a big miss by the ACC refs that extended a BC drive — the Irish made it too easy sometimes to throw a flag by losing their poise. And in critical moments. "Aggressive penalties are ones that you live with," Freeman said. "But the ones that are un- disciplined — jumping offsides is an undisciplined penalty. And pushing a guy out of bounds is un- disciplined. And so we've got to clean those up." 5. If This Is The November Mulligan, An Aspir- ing Notre Dame Playoff Team Can Live With It The deeper a clunker comes in November, the less it looks like an outlier and the more it looks like a team regressing. And that's a bad look for a CFP aspirant that relies on bad things happening to other teams and a committee that's going to split hairs fairly. This BC game needs to galvanize Notre Dame's improvement. And that improvement needs to be sustainable and not subtle. FIVE THOUGHTS BY ERIC HANSEN Redshirt freshman safety Tae Johnson (left) notched 2 of Notre Dame's 3 interceptions against the Eagles. PHOTO BY NICK GRACE