Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541687
24 DECEMBER 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. There's Another Gear For This Notre Dame Football Team The next time the ninth-ranked Irish take the field — with Norman, Okla., the weekend before Christmas seemingly the most likely setting at this moment — there's a chance they'll have repatri- ated five starters from the injury list, plus a No. 1 kicking option and a key rotational piece. That makes Notre Dame deeper, but not neces- sarily better than the version that won its 10th straight game after starting the season with two cases of heartbreak. And if the Irish (10-2) aspire to again be more than tourists in their second run in the 12-team version of the College Football Playoff, the magic is in how those pieces fit together. Which is also both the beauty and functionality of how fourth- year head coach Marcus Freeman builds his teams. They chase the best version of themselves — not big-picture goals, not style points, not responses to bulletin-board material. That's not to say there wasn't plenty to like about the 49-20 Irish dismissal of host Stanford (4-8) that drew a gathering of 27,456 in a game that finished in the wee hours of Sunday morning when converted to the Notre Dame players' East- ern Time Zone body clocks. But what could this team be with offensive line- men Billy Schrauth and Charles Jagusah, defen- sive tackle Gabe Rubio, safety Tae Johnson, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse, kicker Noah Burnette and elite blocking tight end Cooper Flanagan? And none of those are off the table as possibilities to return, and all but Jagusah are probabilities. The answer is the same as it was last year when Notre Dame outplayed and outgrew its No. 7 seed- ing. "Culture wins." That means to make the most of those addi- tions, before and after Selection Sunday there will likely be lots of self-scouting and lots of "question everything." Even if it creates some uncomfortable discussions and decisions. 2. It's Easy To Second-Guess Putting Jeremiyah Love Back In The Game It's harder to do so when you hear what went into the decision. Notre Dame's most serious Heisman Trophy can- didate since linebacker Manti Te'o in 2012 admit- tedly wanted to put on a show against a top-25 run defense nationally and amass the 132 yards he needed to usurp Vagas Ferguson's 46-year-old school record for rushing yards in a single season. But he wanted to do it within the team concept of sharing the ball with tag-teammate Jadarian Price, and, as it turned out, Aneyas Williams. And in the context of what was best for the team. And so, when Love suffered a first-quarter rib injury, Freeman at halftime tried to talk Love out of re- entering a lopsided game, even when X-rays and team doctors deemed it was safe to do so. Love, incidentally, played 27 of Notre Dame's 73 offensive snaps — including a handful in the third quarter — and rushed for 66 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown and caught 1 pass for 6 yards. "I know he wanted to go out there and put on a Heisman Trophy-worthy performance," Freeman said. "And we owed it to him to say, 'If you feel like you can go, go.' And that tells you the type of competitor he is. I know he's hurting, but he wanted to go. "And it was safe for him. We wouldn't put him in harm's way. And I left that up to him because he's earned that right." 3. Charlie Mirer Got More Than 15 Minutes Of Fame He got a storybook moment to treasure forever. The 6-foot-6 Stanford redshirt junior and son of former Notre Dame standout quarterback Rick Mirer, had never so much as handed off or taken a knee in a college football game, much less engi- neered a scoring drive. The heretofore fourth-stringer relieved Stanford starting signal-caller Elijah Brown for the last six plays of an 80-yard drive and willed the Cardinal the final 42 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Brown with four minutes left in the game. Mirer completed 2 of 3 passes for 22 yards, got sacked for a 7-yard loss, but also scrambled for a 30-yard gain — the longest run by either team, save Notre Dame running back Aneyas Williams' 51-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. 4. No Such Poetic Scenario For CJ Williams The one-time Notre Dame football commitment is on his third school, after choosing Southern Cal over the Irish back in December 2021, and is finally making a significant contribution after two rela- tively quiet seasons at Wisconsin following being an afterthought with the Trojans. But against the Irish, Stanford's leading receiver struggled, with just 1 reception for 14 yards. The Irish pass defense continues to push toward a top-10 finish nationally in pass efficiency de- fense, with sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore leading the way again Stanford with 3 passes bro- ken ups and an interception. 5. Yes, It Really Has Been Since Oct. 11 That Notre Dame Made A Field Goal That was a 34-yarder against North Carolina State in Game 6. The Irish have only tried three since then and only one in the past four games — a 46-yard miss by freshman Erik Schmidt at Pitt Nov. 15 that sailed wide right. The good news is that Schmidt continues to make his extra points and execute well on kickoffs. And for the first time in four weeks grad transfer Noah Burnette — who's 5 of 6 on his field goal attempts this season — warmed up in pregame and could give the Irish another option in the postseason. ✦ FIVE THOUGHTS BY ERIC HANSEN Freshman kicker Erik Schmidt was a perfect 7 of 7 on point-after tries against Stanford but didn't attempt a field goal, meaning the Irish still haven't made a three-pointer since Oct. 11. PHOTO BY CHUCK ARAGON