With the 2026 college football season in full force, the Heisman Trophy race is beginning to ramp up.
As players across the country build their cases to be named the nation’s best college football player, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr did just that.
In the Irish’s 49-10 victory over the in-state rival Purdue Boilermakers, Carr threw for 237 yards, 3 touchdowns, an interception and added 1 rushing touchdown.
That brings Carr’s season totals to 963 passing yards and 11 total touchdowns while completing 70.5% of his passes.
So far this season, I have harped on just how efficient Carr has been to start the season.
This game showcased a different side of Carr’s game—his big-play ability.
It seemed like Carr was attacking every part of the field, especially downfield.
Carr averaged nearly 17 yards per completion on his 14 completions against the Boilermakers.
Once again, however, Carr’s impact on the game goes past the numbers on the stat sheet as Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman spoke about.
One way Carr is making a positive impact beyond his stats is by making sure the Irish offense is in the best place it can be pre-snap.
“Here's the difference is that when the green dot cuts off on defense,” said Freeman. “He doesn't need a green dot to make his next check. That gives us an advantage, right? It cuts off at 15 seconds. So after 15 seconds, he's not hearing anything. He's not hearing anything you say, but our guy, he's still able to kind of see this and make decisions. Whereas a lot of times defensively, after 15 seconds, the call is the call. You're going to play what we have called. So the advantage is definitely for a guy like CJ that can make that next check based on what he's seeing.”
Specifically, limiting negative plays in the pre-snap process is something Freeman highlighted as another positive thing Carr does beyond the stat sheet.
“Tremendously, right,” said Freeman. “Part of not allowing sacks is making sure your protection is set correctly. The ability to see pressure from one side or another, to be able to see what you think the defense is doing and get the protection that way, protects you as the quarterback. The second part of that, the O-line has to protect, which they've done a really good job, but we have to make sure that as much as we can, we got to slide the protection to where we think the extra defender is rushing. It's huge.
“In terms of the tackles for loss, it's just as big on CJ to check a run play away from a catastrophic play, right? There are certain plays that the offensive coordinator can call, and it's not going to be good into that look. So the ability to check that run to a different run or to a pass is something that we have to be able to do. You got to have a quarterback that can see that first, right? Recognize what the defense is doing and then put your offense in the right position and the right play. He's done an excellent job with that.”
However, the Heisman, as we have noted previously, is heavily influenced by the stat sheet and ‘wow’ plays a player can make in a season.
While Carr’s four touchdowns were a step in the right direction, that kind of production needs to be the norm week in and week out to win the Heisman.
As the Irish are prepping to travel to Chapel Hill to face off against Bill Belichick’s North Carolina squad, Carr has another opportunity to make some impressive plays.
Irish Sports Daily’s Jamie Uyeyama highlighted patience as a key for Carr and the Irish offense ahead of Saturday’s matchup in his UNC Scouting Report.
“There might be a bit of a feeling-out process for the Notre Dame coaching staff and CJ Carr against this UNC defense,” said Uyeyama. “The Tar Heels don't have enough talent to cover up the holes with their personnel, though. If they make one move to change something, chances are it will open up another spot to attack for Notre Dame.
“Once all of that gets sorted, the offense should settle in. If they are patient and efficient enough early on, they should eventually break through.”
I think Carr will once again put together a nice performance against the Tar Heels and remain a strong contender in the Heisman race.
With that being said, the Heisman race is already seeing some very strong cases being made by multiple players across the country.
Last weekend, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith put together a 217-yard, four-touchdown performance against Illinois.
Subsequently, the Illini let go of defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck after the Buckeyes 42-19 win.
Smith’s statistical performance was that of a Heisman wide receiver and Smith would be the first wideout to win the award since Alabama’s DeVonta Smith won it back in 2020.
Another Heisman-level performance from a non-quarterback came from Florida running back Jadan Baugh in the Gators’ 52-28 win over then No. 4 Ole Miss.
Baugh rushed for 142 yards on 19 carries and found the end zone 3 times Saturday in the Swamp.
When the lights were brightest, Baugh answered the call and stepped up for his team against a top-five-ranked opponent.
Those are the kinds of performances Carr needs to produce when he gets the opportunities to keep himself in the race.
As it stands now, Carr has +1300 odds to win the Heisman per FanDuel Sportsbook
The players with the same or better odds to win the Heisman per FanDuel and their upcoming opponent are as follows:
- Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith at No. 14 Iowa
- Miami quarterback Darian Mensah at Clemson
- Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor vs. No. 7 Alabama
- Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell at No. 16 Mississippi State
- Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss idle
Once again, it is up to Carr to continue to elevate his play to match the level of the top players in college football as the Heisman race rolls on.
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