Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 SEPT. 19, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. More Receivers Step Up For Carr In the aftermath of Notre Dame's 41-13 victory over Wisconsin, a reporter asked Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman about wanting to throw the football to wide receivers more. In that season opener, only two wide receivers caught more than one pass from junior quarterback CJ Carr: senior Jordan Faison and junior Micah Gilbert. Both Faison and Gilbert showed up for Carr again in the 52-0 win over Rice. But four more wide re- ceivers caught passes from Carr before he left the game after one third-quarter drive with the Irish leading by 49 points. "I can't remember who asked me that ques- tion about spreading the ball around," Freeman joked. "It was too long ago. It's good to see those young guys and different wide receivers. I know the last game nine different guys had receptions, but mostly running backs and tight ends. To see all those wideouts get an opportunity to get their hands on the ball is big." Faison, who led the Irish in receiving last season, continued to lead the way with 4 catches for 54 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior Jaden Greathouse, who was limited to one reception against Wiscon- sin, grabbed 3 passes for 48 yards from Carr. Junior Micah Gilbert hauled in 2 passes for 47 yards and 1 touchdown. The other three receivers who caught passes from Carr — junior Mylan Graham (2 catches for 24 yards), junior Matt Jeffery (1 for 18) and sopho- more Jerome Bettis Jr. (2 for 61) — had never caught a pass from Carr in a game. 2. Wide Receiver Blocking Matters, Too Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Brown wasn't particularly pleased with how his wide receivers blocked in the season opener against Wisconsin. Freeman admitted as much following the win over Rice. "I know it's been a big point of emphasis, be- cause those are the difference between first downs and touchdowns," Freeman said. "They're the difference between big plays and first downs." Greathouse played a big role in helping Faison turn a screen play in the first quarter into an 11- yard touchdown. So did fifth-year tight end Ty Washington. Greathouse blocked his defender into the end zone and then took on another. Washing- ton secured the first block on the edge, and Faison made one defender miss to reward their efforts. "We've been working on that since fall camp," Faison said. " That same play, a little bubble screen. The dudes in front of me handled business, couldn't do it without them, and was able to pop it in for a touchdown." 3. Nice To Have Viliamu-Asa Back Absorbing an illegal chop block isn't the ideal way to return from a nearly 10-month absence from game action following ACL surgery. But that's exactly what Notre Dame junior linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa endured from a running back and offensive lineman on his second defen- sive snap. The back went low after the lineman started his block up high to create the penalty. Viliamu-Asa then removed any concern that the penalty had affected his play. He knifed into the backfield to make a tackle for a 7-yard loss. Ac- counting for Viliamu-Asa cost Rice 20 yards in back-to-back snaps. "I don't know what down it was, but kind of just chuckled a little bit," Freeman said. "I said he's back. He's a great player. It's great to have his energy, his presence, the skill set, the playmaking ability. It's great to have him back on that field where he belongs. Really proud of him. He did a good job." Viliamu-Asa, who dedicated the game to injured defensive starters safety Brauntae Johnson and defensive tackle Jason Onye, tied for the team-high in tackles with 5, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and he recovered a fumble in the second quarter. 4. Be Patient With Notre Dame's Running Game Notre Dame's running game wasn't exactly dy- namic in the first half against Rice. But unlike the season opener, the first-team offense didn't have the second half to exert its will on the defense. All 15 rushing attempts while Carr remained in the game went to junior starter Aneyas Williams and sophomore Nolan James Jr. They both totaled 29 rushing yards, but James scored a pair of touch- downs on his 6 carries. An average of 3.9 yards per carry isn't good enough for a Notre Dame offense that wants to run the ball with its starters, but it didn't need to against Rice. Plus, the average is skewed by situational runs. Of the seven carries by Williams and James that went for fewer than 3 yards, two resulted in 1-yard touchdowns and another con- verted a third-and-1 with a 2-yard gain. 5. Beware Of Bryce Young Notre Dame junior defensive end Bryce Young continues to show signs of having a major break- out season this fall. After tallying 4 tackles, includ- ing 1 tackle for loss, against Wisconsin, he backed up that performance with 3 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack, against Rice. If he can keep playing at such a high level, oppos- ing offenses will have their hands full with Young on one side and senior defensive end Boubacar Traore on the other side. FIVE THOUGHTS BY TYLER JAMES Senior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse provided more production for Notre Dame's passing game against Rice, reeling in 3 receptions for 48 yards. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER