Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 19, 2026 21 The Irish defense made it clear from the start how the game would be played. "You don't ever know how a game is going to go," Freeman said. "You want to come out of the locker room with a mentality of, listen, we have to attack this group. I felt we had to be aggressive up front." Message received in a 12th consecu- tive double-digit victory for the Irish. FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 21, RICE 0 Top Moment: On the second play of the game, junior safety Adon Shuler attacked Rice slot receiver Davis Lane Jr. like a heat-seeking missile. Shuler hit Lane so hard that the ball popped out, and senior defensive end Boubacar Traore scooped it up and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. Rice fumbled on its second drive, too, making it the first time since 2024 (against Navy) the Irish forced and recovered a fumble on each of their opponent's first two drives. Feature Performers: Senior Luke Talich started for injured junior Braun- tae Johnson at safety and led the Irish with 3 tackles while also forcing a fumble that Rice recovered. Junior quarterback CJ Carr started sharp, completing 7 of 7 passes for 86 yards with 2 touchdowns. Stats: Notre Dame outgained Rice 107-13 despite both teams running 13 plays … The Owls had -8 passing yards on 3 pass plays … Rice only had 1 first down. Items: Linebacker Kyngstonn Vil- iamu-Asa made his junior debut and had 2 tackles, including a tackle for loss. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 42, RICE 0 Top Moment: The Irish offensive line gave Carr all day to throw, and they were rewarded with a 39-yard touch- down pass to junior Micah Gilbert. That put an exclamation point on a dominant first half in which the Irish took a com- manding six-touchdown lead. Feature Performers: Sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. tacked on The Irish defense forced 4 turnovers and limited the Owls to 128 total yards while recording their first shutout in a home opener in 17 years. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER