A Week 2 home opener for a Marcus Freeman-led Notre Dame team.
Does that sentence make your stomach churn just a little bit?
Well, for the Irish there was no Week 2 slip up as Notre Dame quickly turned the home opener into a laugher, taking down Rice 52-0. Prior to Saturday’s game, Freeman was just 1-3 in Week 2, and it was clear that there was an emphasis to not let history repeat itself against the Owls.
There weren’t many tense moments inside Notre Dame Stadium as the Irish rocketed out to a 21-point lead at the end of the first, and doubled that up to go into the break up 42-0. All three phases were operating at full capacity, with three turnovers from the defense, the offense rolling without much resistance and some timely punt returns buried the Owls before they had a chance.
Notre Dame’s defense handled Rice’s triple option with ease in the first half, allowing just 52 total yards of offense through 30 minutes. Adon Shuler emphatically started the game with a bruising hit on Davis Lane Jr. to force a fumble, and Boubacar Traore took the loose ball to the house.
With the defense stifling the Owls, CJ Carr and the offense started to stretch the field. Carr started the game 9-9, including a pair of touchdowns to his favorite target in Jordan Faison. The wide receiver carved up the Rice secondary on a deep post into the endzone, and made a defender miss on a screen to find pay dirt for an 11-yard score.
Carr’s deep ball connection with his receiving core was on full display in South Bend as late in the second quarter the sophomore delivered a beautiful strike into the endzone for Micah Gilbert for a 39-yard touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, the Irish defense had the Owls spinning in circles. Rice’s triple option quickly melted down as quarterback Jacurri Brown fumbled two different handoffs.
In the second quarter, Brown’s errant pitch deep in his own end found the turf and the hands of Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. The junior linebacker saw his first game action since tearing his ACL last November, and he looked like he didn’t miss a step with four tackles along with the fumble recovery.
In the rushing department, Nolan James Jr. had a knack for the endzone, rushing for a pair of scores in the first half, including on the short field created by Viliamu-Asa’s recovery.
Carr had one more drive left in him to open the third, and he made it count, connecting with Jerome Bettis Jr.. The freshman receiver flashed some potential down the sideline as Carr dropped one in his bucket and he took it for a 56 yard reception. Carr finished off the drive with a play action pass at the goal line, finding Cooper Flanagan wide-open over the middle for his first career touchdown.
The Irish quarterback ended his day in the third quarter, officially going 16-20 for 253 yards and four touchdowns.
Notre Dame’s defense continued to ground the Owls offensively in the second half. Rice mustered just 128 total yards --- the fewest allowed in the Freeman era --- for the entire game, and were held scoreless.
Next up for Notre Dame is a game under the lights in South Bend against Michigan State. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
