Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544783
16 SUMMER 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE A fter one four-series period of the 94th edition of the Blue- Gold Game, Notre Dame offen- sive coordinator Mike Denbrock called out his quarterback. He called out the entire first-team offense, who picked up only one first down through its first two possessions. But Denbrock wanted to see more from redshirt sophomore signal-caller CJ Carr, in accordance with his status as a prospective Heisman Trophy contender. "I'm disappointed with how we started," Denbrock said on Peacock's broadcast. "I like the aggressiveness we're playing with, but I'm not happy with our accuracy — footwork and where we've placed the ball." As he often does, Carr responded. After a 2-of-9 start, Carr hit all 4 pass attempts on Notre Dame's ensu- ing drive with the ones. The third was a fourth-and-2 completion to senior wide receiver Jordan Faison. The fourth was a beautiful hole shot over the mid- dle for 20 yards to Ohio State transfer wideout Mylan Graham, setting up a touchdown run for junior running back Aneyas Williams. Carr and the offense were sluggish out of the gates, but they showed why Notre Dame's passing game can be its best in quite some time during the April 25 offense-defense scrimmage. And a walk-off 43-yard field goal from Purdue transfer kicker Spencer Porath put the offense over the top. The Blue team (offense) defeated the Gold team (defense) 41-40, though the score was often manipulated by Irish head coach Marcus Freeman to set up Porath's game-deciding kick. All three Notre Dame quarterbacks — Carr, red- shirt freshman Blake Hebert and true freshman Noah Grubbs — had their mo- ments throughout the afternoon. "I thought we were pretty sloppy in the beginning," Denbrock said. "Was a little disappointed in that. Not mad at 'em, but disappointed. But I thought we picked it up as time went along. We were able to hit some big chunk plays, which is kind of the foundation of what this offense is built on." Hebert made the first big splash, throwing deep down the left sideline to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cam CAPTAIN CARR Blue-Gold Game shows Notre Dame offense will go as far as CJ Carr will take it Carr completed just 7 of 15 throws for 55 yards with 0 touchdowns and 1 interception in the Blue-Gold Game, but showed throughout the spring he is capable of carrying the Irish to new heights. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER