Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542428
22 FEBRUARY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED zones make any rhetoric regarding "Why not continue with Notre Dame?" sound an awful lot like the football equivalent of "The dog ate my homework." Ironically, Notre Dame's 34-24 victory over the Trojans in South Bend Oct. 18 may have been the strongest data point for the Irish on their CFP résumé. 5. REDRAWING THE LINE The bigger question wasn't whether redshirt sophomore Charles Jagusah had All-America potential in 2025. It was which position would coax that ceiling the fastest and raise Notre Dame's as a line and as a team most effectively as well? Right guard? Left tackle? And suddenly the 6-foot-7, 333-pound prodigy was a bystander on Notre Dame's 2025 season, as he had been for all but three games of his three-year Irish foot- ball career. But, oh, what he showed in those three games — as the fill-in starting left tackle in the 2023 Sun Bowl for opt- out and unanimous All-American Joe Alt. Then as an emergency fill-in at right guard for Rocco Spindler in the 2024 CFP semifinal win over Penn State, then as the injury replacement at left tackle for Anthonie Knapp in the CFP National Championship Game against Ohio State. "When he plays with the power and explosiveness that he has, he's pretty special," Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph said just ahead of the Ohio State game. A UTV accident in Wyoming during a holiday break on the weekend of July 4 resulted in a broken left humerus for Jagusah with an original recovery time- line believed to be sometime in October. A clean-up surgery in October pushed that prognosis back until possibly dur- ing a playoff run, but subsequent com- plications would have prevented that and have blurred even Jagusah's avail- ability for spring practice. Jagusah became the big "What if?" — in the sense of wondering whether his presence in a 27-24 loss at Miami Aug. 31 or in a 41-40 loss at home to Texas A&M 13 days later have been enough to change either outcome? But his absence also revealed the character and leadership of this Irish team, which had to deal with the loss of two more O-line starters in October, first center Ashton Craig Oct. 11 against North Carolina State and then left guard Billy Schrauth a week later. Instead of falling apart, the Irish were galvanized by the chain of events. And if Jagusah does return to his promising trajectory in 2026, the Irish offensive line — even with the NFL Draft declarations of Schrauth and right tackle Aamil Wag- ner — could be Notre Dame's best since its 2017 Joe Moore Award-winning unit. 4. AFTER THE LOVE IS GONE OK, puns were actually a fun part of the most serious run at a Heisman Trophy by a Notre Dame player since linebacker Manti Te'o finished second to Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel in 2012. Love is all you need. Love is in the air. And even though the junior running back finished a distant third in the Heisman voting, Notre Dame was clever not to overexpose him as a "Heisman candidate" early and instead let his highlights and numbers do the talking along those lines. And then when it was time, Love told his story, and it was compelling. Two things really worked against him, though — Notre Dame's lack of big stages after the Oct. 18 matchup with Southern Cal, and Notre Dame not being deeper in the national title conversation. Vanderbilt wasn't either, and Com- modores quarterback Diego Pavia fin- ished second, but for a running back to overcome the QB prize the Heisman has become, an Irish team ranked higher would have helped Love's case. Still, Love and sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore earned unanimous All- America honors. And the last time an Irish running back even got consensus honors (first team on at least three of the five major AA teams) was Vagas Fergu- son in 1979. And the last time there was a unanimous Notre Dame All-American running back was 1966 — Nick Eddy. Love shared the ball and the spotlight unselfishly with fellow running back Jadarian Price, who also made several All-America teams and is likely to be the second running back taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, behind only Love. Their story, their legacy is a huge rea- son why high school running backs and potential transfers alike are lining up to try to get in the door and wear the gold helmet in future seasons. 3. THE CARR/MINCHEY QB DUEL AND ITS AFTERMATH There was some pretty intriguing misinformation about the August battle for Notre Dame's No. 1 quarterback spot Notre Dame and redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr's 34-24 triumph over Southern Cal in South Bend Oct. 18 was the last meeting between the two longtime rivals until at least 2030. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER