Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1547006
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 10, 2026 23 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: A- Most of the damage done by Notre Dame's pass- ing attack came in the first half before the weather took a turn for the worse, but it's hard to be un- satisfied with the overall performance by junior quarterback CJ Carr and his receiving targets. Carr threw three of his four touchdown passes in the first half to senior wide receivers Jordan Faison (2) and Jaden Greathouse (1). The first was a per- fect throw to Faison and the receivers made nice catches on the other two touchdowns. All three of Notre Dame's first-half third-down conversions came through the air. Carr, who completed 21 of 29 passes for 234 yards, connected with sophomore running back Nolan James Jr. for his fourth touchdown pass, and James did most of the work after the catch to reach the end zone on a 6-yard score. Faison returned to his WR1 form with 8 catches for 132 yards on 9 targets. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: A- If we're grading on a scale based on the rest of the season to this point, Notre Dame's rushing at- tack would deserve an A+. The Irish set a season high with 241 rushing yards on 45 carries. That's more than Notre Dame totaled against Wisconsin and Rice combined. Notre Dame's backfield officially became a three- man rotation with the emergence of freshman running back Jonaz Walton. He tallied a career-high 120 rushing yards, 92 of which came on 18 carries in the second half when the Irish rode him to help take over the game. Even James (65 yards on 9 carries) and junior Aneyas Williams (42 yards on 8 carries) averaged at least 5 yards per carry. That's because the Irish of- fensive line had its best run-blocking performance of the season. The only things the rushing attack lacked were touchdowns on designed runs and better effi- ciency on third-down runs. The Irish came up short of the chains on five running plays. However, Notre Dame converted three fourth downs on the ground, albeit once on a scramble. NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: C- Though Notre Dame intercepted a pair of passes from quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., the Irish gave up even more crucial plays through the air. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino schemed up a nice play that allowed North Carolina to take a 7-0 lead with a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Shamar Easter. Then tight end Jelani Thurman beat senior safety Adon Shuler in coverage for a 14-yard touchdown reception just before halftime. Thur- man returned to the end zone late in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard score that he caught next to junior cornerback Leonard Moore. North Carolina wide receiver Jordan Shipp (7 catches for 109 yards) became the first Notre Dame opponent to surpass 100 receiving yards against the Irish this season. Notre Dame's pass rush, which entered the game averaging 3.25 sacks per game, managed to take down Edwards for a sack just once. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: A Notre Dame's stingy run defense remained true to form against North Carolina, which forced the Tar Heels to lean on Edwards to throw 28 passes. The Irish limited UNC to 49 rushing yards on 15 carries in the first half. North Carolina rushed only 8 more times in the game and finished with 77 net rushing yards. Notre Dame has yet to allow a team to rush for 100 yards this season, and the streak even extends into the final game of last season. Running back Benjamin Hall managed just 36 rushing yards on 10 carries one game after rushing for 130 yards against Clemson. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: D- Notre Dame didn't ask its special teams to do much against North Carolina, but the Irish com- mitted far too many mistakes when its offense and defense weren't on the field. Freshman Jasper Scaife dropped the snap on his lone punt of the day. Fortunately for the Irish, he managed to punt the ball away for 34 yards with Tar Heels in his face. Scaife later dropped a snap when attempting to hold for an extra point, but that didn't come back to haunt them. It was at least pretty wet when Scaife mishandled the snap on the extra-point attempt, contrary to the earlier drop. Then the Irish surrendered a 98-yard kickoff re- turn touchdown to open the second half in what could have been a game-changing moment. How- ever, the offense took control of the game from there. At least junior kicker Spencer Porath made a 31- yard field goal in poor conditions. NOTRE DAME COACHING: B- Outside of a failed fourth-down conversion in the second quarter, Notre Dame's offensive coaching staff seemed to have all the answers it needed. The defensive staff had a less stellar day but a better second half. Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi had the roughest day, but many of the errors came in execution rather than game plan. REPORT CARD BY TYLER JAMES Senior wide receiver Jordan Faison set career highs in receptions (8) and receiving yards (132) and caught a pair of scoring passes. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP