It’s safe to say Notre Dame’s offense has been a pleasant surprise in 2025.
Coming out of camp, Mike Denbrock’s unit wasn’t a concern, but with a first-time starting quarterback and questions at wide receiver, it still had plenty to prove.
Through three games, the Irish have found a quarterback for the present and the future in redshirt freshman CJ Carr and Saturday’s win over Purdue was his best showing yet.
On the year, Carr has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 737 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. Notre Dame currently sits at No. 52 in the country in total offense at 426.0 yards per game and No. 26 in scoring offense at 40.0 points per game.
Notre Dame also earned its first win of the season on Saturday after putting up 56 points. The win was expected, but it was also a weight lifted off the shoulders of Carr, which provided a moment between him and Marcus Freeman following the game.
“It stinks being 0-2, now 1-2,” Carr stated. “Those first two weeks are hard. You put in all that work and the result isn't what you wanted. He just said, ‘Enjoy this one. There's many more to come.’ We're excited to get on to Arkansas.”
There were times over the first two games where the offense showed what it could be, but there are natural growing pains. Saturday’s offensive performance looked like the offense Denbrock wants to run with vertical shots, but a run game that simply couldn’t be stopped as Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love totaled five touchdowns on the ground.
“The consistency of working with the same group and getting our identity is what we want to be on offense,” said Carr. “Then just sharpening things up through the last three weeks has been great. I think we looked sharp out there today.”
Notre Dame also scored on its first play from scrimmage as Carr found graduate transfer Malachi Fields for a 66-yard touchdown.
The play didn’t surprise Carr or Fields as it was a look they were expecting and they relied on the work they’ve put in to execute.
“We knew we were going to get quarters at some point in that game,” explained Carr. “We had some shots dialed up early. They came out there and the boundary safety was low, six or seven yards, the field safety was kind of in the run fit. Play action off of it, felt the safety bite down, and you're not going to catch Malkai fields in open space, so it was great.”
Later in the game, Carr then hit Jordan Faison on a double move in front of the Purdue bench for his second touchdown of the day.
The game was in hand, but the 48-yard scoring strike was a statement in the development of the offense.
“CJ had some visions out there,” Faison said. “I'm looking into him. He gave me a little check, a little stutter, so I made it happen. The DB fell for it because he kept running the out routes and hit it for a deep one.”
Carr’s ability to get into the right play is significant. It shows the game is slowing down for him, but that he’s able to recognize defenses and that could take Notre Dame’s offense to heights it hasn’t been in a few years.
It takes trust for Denbrock and Freeman to allow Carr the freedom to make checks and the Michigan legacy is only gaining more by the game.
“It's been very hands-on with the checks,” Carr explained. “I’ve had to continue to build trust with Denbrock. A few plays earlier, the corner was squatting on one of those outs. I thought it was a good time to get out there and get a little double move on him and it ended up working.”
The Irish offense was also efficient with Carr as he completed 10-of-12 passes for 223 yards and two scores, while Love ran for 157 yards and Price added 74 yards on the ground.
“It's amazing,” Carr said, “It's easy. You have Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in the backfield and the best Oline in the country. It just takes all the pressure off my shoulders. I know we're going to run the ball at will, in this game especially.
“When my number's called to make a throw, it kind of spreads everything out. Everyone's focused on that front seven and then you can hit things outside.”
Notre Dame’s big rushing numbers are due to two of the nation’s best backs, but the receivers also did their part on the outside to spring big runs.
It’s not glamorous as a receiver to block, but Faison is more than willing to do anything to win.
“That's what we're going to do,” stated Faison. “If we've got to run the ball 60 times a game, we're going to go out there and block our asses off for the running backs and kind of make this thing go. That's what we're going to do every day.”
There are several players who would get the ball more at other places, but they are unselfish and have a goal of not letting the 0-2 start ruin the season.
“That's just what we do here at Notre Dame,” said Price. “The team comes first. Whatever we need to do to get our first win of the season. Everything for team glory., Whatever I need to do, whether that’s score six touchdowns or score zero, it doesn't matter to me. Whatever is going to help our team win.”
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