After a slow start to Notre Dame’s game against Boston College on Saturday, Marcus Freeman looked to CJ Carr to take control of the contest.
The freshman quarterback did just that, going 18-for-25 with 299 passing yards and two touchdowns.
“That's why I love him, because he's a competitor,” Freeman said after the game.
“He's ultra competitive. He probably reflects a lot of people in that locker room when we look at the (plays) that we didn't make instead of just relishing in the ones that we did.
“He's got a high ceiling and he's continued to elevate. He's got more in there and I'm excited to just be a part of it as he continues to improve.”
In the second quarter, Carr found Malachi Fields streaking downfield for a 40-yard touchdown grab. The reception was Notre Dame’s first taste of big-play success against the Eagles and it was Carr’s pinpoint throw, which found the receiver right as he pinballed into open space.
“I think we’ve done a really good job at protecting it up front, and I haven’t taken a bunch of shots on Zero (coverage) because we have a really good plan for it,” Carr said after the game. “We kind of hope that a team brings Zero (coverage) because we can get some of the outcomes we did (Saturday).”
Despite a frustrating performance at times at BC, Carr remained patient.
“Win the next play,” Carr said. “How can we lock in enough to produce a good outcome on this play, whether that's maybe managing a play where they got us, and we have to check the ball down or throw it out of bounds. Or, we are in a good way, and can we execute and hit our shots.”
Despite having to wait for his next big opportunity, he stayed locked in and located another opening with 1:53 left in the first half.
Irish wide receiver Will Pauling exposed the lack of Boston College inside leverage, finding himself wide open 40 yards downfield. Carr hurled it right in the basket to extend the Notre Dame lead to 12 before the half.
“BC came out with some different looks than they showed on film in some previous weeks,” Carr said. “We started out slow but did a really good job of adjusting to their pressures and their Zero coverage that they brought a few times.
“We hit some deep ones to loosen them up which opened the run game up a little bit more, but consistently doing your job is something we can always get better at.”
Once the Eagles became weary of the pass game, the run holes began to open. Boston College brought it to within two points, then, Irish running back Jeremiyah Love got to work.
Love tallied two scores, with one being a 94-yard highlight burst to make it a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.
“It felt really good to hand him the ball and for him to take it that far,” Carr said. “We have two running backs that can do that every play. Watching it from the sideline, and him looking at the sideline at our guys was just awesome to see. It just pumped the guys up I think.”
Carr and Love’s hard work represents what it looks like to never be satisfied, according to Freeman.
“That's got to be a reflection of everybody in our program,” Freeman said. “The minute you're satisfied, you get passed up. How do you get better if you're satisfied? If you're satisfied, you don't find the answers to improve. We need everybody in our program to enjoy the victory.
“That's number one. You work really, really hard to enjoy it, but we're greedy. There's more. There's more in terms of reaching our full potential.”
For Freeman and Carr, potential is something both echoed after a win where the team dealt with adversity against a surprisingly tough Eagles team.
“I think the main goal for this offense and this whole team is to reach our full potential,” Carr said. “We had a really good team last year with really good players, but we feel like we have the same talent - if not better - this year. Our ceiling is really high and we are just trying to continue and elevate each week.”
Carr highlighted how he tries to avoid the pressure of Notre Dame needing to be perfect down the stretch to have a shot at the College Football Playoffs.
“The reality is you have to come into every game and narrow it down to one play at a time,” he said. “We have to win that one play at a time, and then multiple plays consistently, which will turn into a quarter and a half.”
Carr and Notre Dame will go for seven straight next Saturday at home against Navy.
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