Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546639
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 26, 2026 23 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: A- The big plays in Notre Dame's passing game ap- peared more frequently against Michigan State. The Irish completed four passes of 20-plus yards. That's in large part thanks to the growing connec- tion between junior quarterback CJ Carr and junior wide receiver Micah Gilbert. Gilbert caught three passes of 20-plus yards in a game while setting career highs in receptions (8) and receiving yards (170). The passing game didn't have to be so reliant on senior wide receiver Jor- dan Faison for the first time this season. Carr, who finished 18-of-24 passing for 234 yards, averaged nearly 9.8 yards per attempt with throws at every level. Carr took one sack, which he nearly avoided by scrambling to the line of scrimmage, and didn't throw a touchdown pass. Otherwise, it's hard to be too displeased by the passing offense. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: B- The slow starts for Notre Dame's rushing attack continued against Michigan State. The Irish rushed 20 times for 67 yards and 1 touchdown in the first half, but the longest run belonged to freshman wide receiver Brayden Robinson, who gained 11 yards on a fourth-and-13 fake punt. The running game leveled up in the second half with sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. receiving the bulk of the work after starter An- eyas Williams, a junior, drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a touchdown celebration he orchestrated after a 1-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. James became the first 100-yard rusher for the Irish this season with career highs in carries (26) and rushing yards (121). Notre Dame needs to improve upon its 3.7-yard average on the ground (161 yards on 43 attempts). NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: A Notre Dame made it pretty clear from the start that Michigan State quarterback Alessio Milivojevic wasn't going to have much success throwing the ball. Three of his first four drop-backs resulted in a pass breakup by fifth-year cornerback DJ McKin- ney, a sack by junior defensive tackle Tionne Gray and an interception by senior safety Luke Talich. The Irish sacked Milivojevic four times, held him to 9-of-17 passing and limited him to 123 passing yards. The only real blemish for the Irish secondary came when Milivojevic hit wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. for a 53-yard gain, which eventually led to Michigan State's only touchdown of the game. Senior safety Adon Shuler grabbed Notre Dame's second interception of the game in the fourth quarter to put a bow on a stellar performance from the Irish's pass rush and coverage. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: A- The Irish handled the challenge of slowing down Michigan State running back Cam Edwards with aplomb. Edwards, who tallied 250 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns in the first two games of the season, managed just 38 yards on 12 carries against Notre Dame. Change-up quarterback Cam Fancher gave Notre Dame's defense a bit more difficulty. His 15-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter made the Irish look temporarily slow and passive. But that was a lapse rather than the lasting image of the Irish run defense. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: B- The Irish special teams units continued to pro- duce a mixed bag of results. On the positive side, freshman Jasper Scaife's lone punt went 49 yards with no return, junior Spencer Porath made a pair of field goals and junior Matt Jeffery partially blocked a punt that set Notre Dame up with good field position for its first touchdown drive. The negatives start with the failed execution on a fake punt by Robinson in the second quarter, which led to MSU's first scoring drive of the game. Notre Dame might not have considered the fake punt if Viliamu-Asa had not been called for holding on a punt that was wiped out on the previous snap. Porath also missed a 39-yard field goal, and three of freshman Micah Drescher's kickoffs that didn't result in touchbacks allowed 62 yards in returns. NOTRE DAME COACHING: B Notre Dame's game plan on both sides of the ball made a lot of sense, and it worked out for the most part. The Irish still appear to be searching from game to game for the run schemes that work best. A couple of coaching decisions in the first half — burning a timeout on the opening drive before a 25-yard field goal and calling the fake punt on fourth-and-13 — were head-scratchers that went against the Irish. REPORT CARD BY TYLER JAMES Junior defensive tackle Tionne Gray (0) helped set the tone for Notre Dame's pass defense with a sack in the first quarter. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER