Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 NOV. 15, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On if the Notre Dame defense set the tone early: "It didn't feel that way. I think we forced two punts the first two drives, but they had some success. We felt like they were moving the ball. But it was critical not to give up points, as you just mentioned. "But just felt like we had to be a little bit more aggres- sive, like both sides of the ball. The O-lines had to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage, and I didn't think we were doing that early defensively. " T h e y s e t t l e d d o w n . Coaches said, 'OK, here is the couple things we want to be able to try to do,' and our guys started playing aggres- sive, but to keep points off the board was critical." O n h ow m u c h o f a n emphasis kicking was all week: "I think desperation probably causes you to seek even harder to find answers. We all look for answers. I'm going to go watch the film and say, 'OK, how do we get better?' That's what we do. "When you're at a point where it's the performance we had last week, I think it creates a little bit of despera- tion to say, 'OK, let's exhaust every avenue that we can.' So if that means filming a guy in pregame warmups, it means that. If it means meeting with our sports psychologist. " B u t t h e b e s t t h i n g i s buy-in from our kickers, es- pecially Erik [Schmidt], as much as it's been from the coaches. If you have coaches that want this and are desperate, but you got a player that says, 'I'm not invested in that, then you won't see the elevation we need.' I mean, you truly see buy-in from all parts." On CJ Carr's elevation of the Notre Dame offense: "Not only is it that he can throw the ball, but you got a quarterback that you can work on a game plan and say, 'Hey, here is a cou- ple different options if you don't think we're going to be able to run the ball and they're going to load the box.' Okay, just he goes out there and he is the conduc- tor and he does it. "He puts our offense in that position to be able to execute those plays. If we're not in the position to do that, you never get the opportunity to throw them, so it all goes back to the way he prepares. I was telling some of the coaches the other day, he's not preparing really any differently now than last year when he was redshirting." On Carr's connection with wide receiver Malachi Fields: "I think a little bit of both, but the execution was what matters, you know. The decisions are decisions. The execution was great, and I'm glad they were connecting." REDSHIRT FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK CJ CARR … On the Notre Dame offensive line protecting him: "I was thinking about that at halftime, actually. I was trying to think if I had gotten, not even hit, but, like, touched by anyone. I hadn't. They did an unbelievable job today. That's a unit that we expect to do what they did this night. They protect me well and ran the ball really well." On KK Smith scoring a touchdown on his first snap of the game: "It's un- believable. It's unbelievable. We expect KK to come in and make the plays he does. And every time he's in there he's doing the right thing, in the right spots, making plays. I could go across the board and talk about every guy on our depth chart that could do that. A lot of depth, is right." REDSHIRT SENIOR CORNERBACK DEVONTA SMITH … On finally getting back healthy after missing a few games with a calf in- jury: "It's definitely been tough. But trusting in God and his plan, knowing that he makes no mistakes. And knowing that I would get back out there on that field and be able to contribute for my team." On helping Jaden Greathouse through his hamstring injury while working through his own calf in- jury: "I definitely talked to him a lot about not going out there until you're fully healthy because I was eager to get out there and that caused it to make my injury worse. God makes no mistakes, and I'm trusting in his plan. I'm going to continue to do everything I need to do to achieve team glory for my team." FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Redshirt sophomore wide receiver KK Smith hauled in a 34-yard touchdown reception on his first snap of the game. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER