Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542428
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2026 23 between CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey — had it actually been grounded in reality. First, there were the reports, not just speculation or predictions, that Minchey had won the job days before Carr was named. Then there were reports of how upset the team allegedly was with the decision, including Minchey himself — which never had legs. But Minchey's summer surge was real, and how it pushed Carr to be the best redshirt freshman version of him- self was indeed authentic. In late October, a source said of Minchey: "He's prepared great. He's been locked in. He's completely com- mitted to his teammates and ready if it comes to that. I just can't say enough positive things about how he's been and how he's gone about his business." Head coach Marcus Freeman echoed those sentiments at a press conference shortly thereafter. And Minchey continued to handle his business in an exemplary way and help Carr develop for the balance of the sea- son and up until he made the postseason decision to enter the transfer portal. In his modest 87 snaps spread over six games, Minchey completed 77 percent of his passes, averaged 12 yards a carry, and had an elite season film grade from Pro Football Focus of 86.5. He'll have two seasons of eligibility at his next stop. 2. TAKING A STAND AFTER THE CFP SNUB Notre Dame's 2024 loss to four-touch- down underdog Northern Illinois was a national punchline — until the Irish turned it into an inflection point and then an anthem for one of the most meaningful surges in decades for Irish football. And then, no one was laughing. The same could happen with this De- cember's deflating combo of the Irish first getting left out of the 2025 College Football Playoff Field and then, a few hours later, deciding to opt out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Dec. 27 in Orlando, Fla. Even the non-troll population of other fan bases aren't likely to embrace or even fully understand the dynamics behind the decision to bypass the bowl game and the reaction to the CFP snub. The nuance of each doesn't fit neatly into a 280-character tweet or even a slightly longer podcast comeback. Now, there is an obligation on the part of Irish director of athletics Pete Bevacqua to work behind the scenes to improve the CFP selection process and continue to be a strong voice in the evolving format of future playoffs. But there's no obligation, or likely even hope, that everybody on the out- side looking in is going to like the stand you've taken. What's important is what happens on the inside. There's pragmatic hidden benefits, too to how Notre Dame pushed through the snub. The Irish players got to go home for Christmas for the first time in two years, heal up from injuries, study for finals without the weight of more games. And they actually got to hold several on- field workouts, contrary to the notion that Notre Dame forfeited all December practices by not going to a bowl. It's not what the stand looks like in December. It's what it could turn into in 2026. 1. THE COACHES MEETING THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING Peeling paint off the walls was how one source described the intensity of Notre Dame's Sunday coaches meeting on Sept. 21 the day after a flawed-but- decisive 56-30 victory over Purdue. Freeman described it as intentionally uncomfortable and necessarily so. And everything changed, especially for a defense with national rankings in many categories in the 100s and looking like Brian VanGorder — the last Notre Dame defensive coordinator to be fired — had returned to run things. But it was Freeman's approach that changed everything. And his players took note. Two weeks later — after a 36-7 take- down of North Carolina State — safety and team captain Adon Shuler was asked about how the players handled the slow start to the season. "I would say every meeting is un- comfortable," he said. "Just the way the coaches and players are and wanting to reach our full potential of being great every day. So, every day is uncomfort- able — the conversations that you have with your players and coaches. And that's just really how it should be if you want to achieve the best." It was a cultural touchstone. And without it, we wouldn't have been won- dering whether Freeman's interest in the New York Giants was ever real. Or warrant angst about when a contract extension would be announced until the news trickled out Dec. 29. With it, it transformed a season and set the stage for bigger dreams and per- haps matching realities. ✦ First-year coordinator Chris Ash (left) engineered a defensive turnaround after a coaches meeting Sept. 21 that was described by head coach Marcus Freeman (right) as intentionally uncomfortable and necessarily so. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER