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By: Evan J. Thomas The Notre Dame Fighting Irish continued their strong 2025 campaign with a dominating 49-10 victory over the Navy Midshipmen at rainy, snowy, cold Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night. Behind a balanced offensive attack led by freshman quarterback CJ Carr who was nearly perfect throwing 13 for 16 for 218 yards and 3 touchdowns. The running game was balanced and tallied 249 yards while Heisman hopeful Jeremiyah Love ran for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns and added another 27 yards on a catch. Malachai Fields led all wide receivers with 4 catches for 97 yards. The game was won with a disciplined defensive effort, the Irish controlled the tempo from start to finish and were sharp against Navy’s triple-option offense—limiting big plays and improving their record and strengthening their postseason outlook. Navy came into the game leading college football averaging 317 yards on the ground and nearly 35 points per game but the Irish defense came up huge allowing only 206 yards and 10 points in the rout. Another classic November victory under the Golden Dome. With momentum building and a key matchup ahead against a ranked Pitt team, Notre Dame looked every bit the part of a team determined to finish the season strong. 
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By: Evan J. Thomas South Bend, IN – November 1, 2025 It wasn’t the flashiest performance, but it was vintage Notre Dame — tough, physical, and unrelenting. The Fighting Irish leaned on their defense and a steady running game to take down longtime rival Boston College Eagles, 25–10, Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium, extending their win streak to six games and keeping their postseason hopes alive. The game opened as a defensive slugfest, with both teams trading punts and field position early. The Irish struck first with 40 yard touchdown pass from CJ Carr to Malakai Fields on a 4th down play that shattered the hopes a stop for the Eagles defense. A missed extra point put the Irish up 6-0. The kicking game has been a problem the past several games as head coach Marcus Freeman keeps trying different kickers to get back on track. Notre Dame had missed 7 of their previous 9 kicks ranging from field goals to extra points until Erik Schmidt finally connected on an extra point attempt. This issue needs to be fixed if the Irish want to make any headway going into a potential CFB Playoff berth. The defense has been been holding their own during the win streak as they combined for 6 sacks and 3 interceptions to stymie various Eagles drives. The rushing defense was superb as the held the Eagles to only 12 yards on the ground on 33 carries, making BC a one dimensional offense. CJ Carr commanded another fine performance as he tallied 299 yards on 18/25 passing, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. The ground game took a bit to get rolling but it took off as Jeremiyah Love took the handoff from Carr at their own 6 yard line as he dashed the hopes of the BC faithful and sprinted 94 yards for a back breaking touchdown to put the cherry on top of the sixth victory in a row. Love finished with 166 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns to cap his day, Jadarian Price struggled as he finished with 12 yards rushing on 9 carries. With four games remaining on the schedule, Navy, Pitt, Syracuse and Stanford the Irish are positioning themselves well to run the table and hopefully a second consecutive berth in the CFP Playoff. The first standings come out this week so we will see where they land. Next Up: 11.8.25 vs. Navy (7-1) Saturday Night at Notre Dame Stadium  By: Evan J. Thomas Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are a duo to be reckoned with and the University of Southern Cal Trojans found out first hand how dangerous the two headed monster at running back is for the Fighting Irish who took home the Jeweled Shillelagh once again in the 34-24 victory. Love had a career game as he tallied 228 yards on the ground and a TD while Price dashed the hopes of the Trojan faithful to put the Irish ahead for good. Love’s previous highest rushing game was 157 yards in a 56-30 win over Purdue earlier this season that I was at. The weather may have been a factor as CJ Carr was unlike himself the first half dozen games as he finished 16 of 26 for 136 yards with one TD and one INT. He added a 1 yard rush for Notre Dame’s final score. The Irish defense was torched by Trojan QB Jordan Maiava at times as he finished with 328 yards passing and 2 TDs. Maiava also tossed 2 interceptions with the final one solidifying the victory for Notre Dame. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa recovered a timely fumble recovery as USC was threatening in the fourth quarter. The big play of the game was when the Irish stopped USC on a fourth-and-1 with 6:02 left in the game. The Irish kicking game was suspect as Noah Burnette missed a costly extra point and a chip shot field goal as both were missed badly wide left. At least 14 points were left on the board as the Irish offense had some mishaps including a Carr interception inside the red zone. NEXT UP: Notre Dame has a bye week, their next game will be November 1 at Boston College.
By: Evan J. Thomas What can we say now about the freshman quarterback CJ Carr after his performance on Saturday against the NC State Wolfpack? Carr finished the game completing 19 of his 31 passes for 342 yards along with tosses of 18 yards to K.K. Smith and 12 yards to Will Pauling in the third quarter in route to Notre Dame's 4th consecutive victory as the stomped the Wolfpack 36-7. Jeremiyah Love took it to the house twice as he tallied 86 yards in the win. Tight End Eli Raridon snagged 7 catches for 109 yards, Pauling added 4 catches and 105 yards as the Irish relied on Carr and the passing game. The Irish offense while leading 10-7 after halftime lined up for a punt on fourth and two at its own 38 yard line. The Irish pulled some trickery as they had backup QB Tyler Buchner taking the direct snap and diving forward three yards for a huge first down. That bold move by Marcus Freeman prompted the Irish to get the first score of the second half and taking a 10 point lead. That was the play that broke the Wolfpack in their loss. Early in the season the Irish defense was much maligned but they once again bent but didn't break throughout the game limiting the Wolfpack offense to 7 points. Irish defense also stymied the nations second leading rusher, Hollywood Smothers as he gained only 46 yards on 12 carries. The Wolfpack entered the contest averaging 447.7 yards of total offense per game but only managed 233 yards at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish defense has allowed 3 TDs in the last three quarters and have 7 interceptions in the last 2 games compared to 5 picks in the first 4. UP NEXT: Get ready as the USC Trojans come into Notre Dame Stadium holding their heads high after they took down #15 Michigan 31-13 in what will be an electric night in South Bend.  By: Evan J. Thomas SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In what was billed as a marquee non-conference matchup, No. 21 Notre Dame leaned on a suffocating defense, opportunistic turnovers, and flashes of offensive life to take down Boise State 28–7 at Notre Dame Stadium. It was the first ever football meeting between these programs. From the first whistle, holy shit did the refs take over the game as it quickly turned messy. Both teams racked up flags—24 penalties collectively for a massive 224 yards. Notre Dame’s offense had miscues in blocking and timing. Head Coach Marcus Freeman and his staff will need to instill within his squad that this can't happen again in remaining games. Now with 5 games under his belt, freshman quarterback CJ Carr is the real deal. He did miss on a couple of long passes including a pass that was just out of the finger tips of a wide open receiver in the end zone While the Irish offense struggled at times with execution, the ground game provided a steady platform. Jeremiah Love and Jadarian Price combined for nearly 200 rushing yards, and the threat of the run opened lanes for Carr’s two TD passes. The Irish defense has been much maligned under new DC Chris Ash and had some hiccups yesterday once again with the zone defense. Notre Dame’s four interceptions (equal to its total over the first four games of the season) proved critical. Leonard Moore snagged 2 of those INT's late in the game to stymie the Broncos threats. Boise State’s offense gained 315 yards total but could not convert opportunities. Notre Dame (3–2) moves forward with regained confidence, though questions linger about consistency. Their defense, which had been under pressure in earlier games, delivered mostly in this one. Next Up is a Saturday Afternoon grudge match vs. NC State at Notre Dame Stadium. Make sure you check out this week's We Are ND Nation Podcast with Evan J. Thomas & Dennis Stover  By: Evan J. Thomas FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Irish offense was hitting on all cylinders as quarterback CJ Carr tied a Notre Dame freshman record with four touchdown passes as the No. 22 Irish blew out the Arkansas Razorbacks 56-13 on Saturday. Running back Jeremiyah Love became the first player in 30 years to rush for two TDs and two receiving TDs in the rout. Carr completed 22 of 30 passes for a career high 354 yards in just his 4th career start and he matched the school TD passing record set by Ron Powlus who tossed four scores in his first career game against Northwestern in 1994. The Irish offense tallied 643 yards of offense, their most prolific feat since the 2017 season. Carr and the offense in the first half was unstoppable, he threw for 294 yards and all four TDs while leading six straight scoring drives. Kenny Minchey relieved Carr in the fourth quarter when the Irish were up by 36 points. The victory puts the Irish at 2-2 on the young season after starting off 0-2 with three straight home games coming up and Boise State next on the docket. Running back Jadarian Price who tallied four TDs last week scored twice with one being a 35 yard catch from Carr and pounded into the end zone on a 3 yard scamper. Aneyas Williams added a 17 yard run and Carr connected with Will Pauling on a 23 yard bullet. The rumblings in the first three games was the demise of the defense led by new defensive coordinator Chris Ash. The passing offense ranked 130th coming into this game but held the Razorbacks to 207 yards through the air and a total of 367 yards and a mere 13 points. The best so far this season. The Irish's two early-season losses put Notre Dame's College Football Playoff hopes in jeopardy, but Saturday’s win showed they’re far from a mediocre team. With an offensive output the past two weeks and a defense hopefully hitting a turning point on the season. Catch this week's We Are ND Nation Podcast with Evan J. Thomas & Dennis Stover as they break down the victory and what is next for the Irish.  By: Evan J. Thomas We Are ND Nation we have a problem. First off, this 2025 is NOT the 2024 team and the Irish have new players throughout the roster, new coaches and new foes. But the problem we are having after 2 games is what is this Irish’s teams identity? Notre Dame was supposed to be one of the best defenses in College Football. After giving up 41 points last night and 488 total yards on defense to a Top 20 Texas A&M squad and 2 weeks prior giving up 27 points and 324 yards to a Top 10 Miami team the Irish defense under new Defensive Coordinator Chris Ash looks pedestrian. Many times being out of position, bad tackling, no push up front and basically zero pass rush doesn’t make it any easier on the defensive backs in coverage. I’m also seeing a lot of zone where the opposing offenses are picking the Irish defense apart. The offense is learning with a young CJ Carr taking over the reins from the departed Riley Leonard. Carr, after 2 games is 39/62 for 514 yards in the air along with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. With a completion percentage of 62.9% and a QB rating of 142.1 I’m not pinning the losses on Carr. What I am seeing is stagnant play calling from OC Mike Denbrock. In week 1 he called way too many RPO’s which led to an abundance of bubble screens. Last night he called way too many direct snaps to the running backs or wildcat formations, many leading to runs for losses or being stuffed. At least against Texas A&M Denbrock did open up the playbook a bit more for Carr to throw the ball downfield. Here are my 5 reasons on why Notre Dame lost to Texas A&M: 1. Lack of Pressure Up Front Over the first two games, the Irish defense has only registered one sack. Sure they have gone up against 2 top 20 teams but for any success on defense pressure is important. Without consistent pressure, Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed had time to find Craver, stretch the field deep, and exploit holes in coverage. I’m not seeing any push from the DLine, let’s change that against Purdue. 2. Big Plays & Explosive Passes Allowed A&M’s Mario Craver tallied 207 receiving yards, including an 86-yard touchdown just in the first quarter where there were blown tackles. The secondary has been vulnerable: yards per completion allowed was over 21 yards—a number more typical of weak secondaries. Christian Gray struggled all night with coverage as well as having a bad personal foul penalty late in the game. 3. Turnovers + Special Teams Slip-Ups Irish defense can’t be expected to carry the game if the offense or special teams frequently gives away opportunities. Notre Dame has forced just one turnover in two games while giving up multiple turn overs. The failed extra point on a botched snap after their go-ahead touchdown was a special teams breakdown that directly made a difference in the final margin. 4. Being Predictable with Play Calling on Offense Week 1 it was the abundance of RPO calls that turned into bubble screens that became predictable. Last night it was Wildcat/ direct snap calls to the running backs that became predictable. The offense currently doesn’t have an identity and with a young play caller sometimes playing it too safe turns into miscues. 5. Being Aggressive Can Hurt I’m going to say here that I love that Marcus Freeman is aggressive on 4th down but last night it backfired. With the game tied he went for it and the offense got stuffed. Win or lose, being aggressive is important but this time it went for naught. There are still games on the schedule that can produce quality wins, one being this coming week at home against Purdue but there are fewer of them. Notre Dame will need to capitalize in those matchups to rebuild its resume for both playoff and bowl stakes. Blowouts are necessary, defensive consistency will be key: giving up chunk plays or late drives, as Texas A&M did, isn’t going to fly against stronger or more opportunistic offenses. Let’s get a win this week against the Boilermakers!  2025 is a NEW season, not the same team that rallied last season after an early loss to NIU to making the National Championship game only to lose to Ohio State. Notre Dame has a NEW quarterback, a redshirt freshman in CJ Carr making his first ever start and seeing his first significant time at the helm. ND has a NEW defensive coordinator in Chris Ash and most of the game the defense was playing on its heals. ND does have Marcus Freeman guiding this team and as you saw in the 27-24 opening loss to Miami there was no give up. The Irish came back from a 21-7 deficit to tie it at 24 before a late interception basically sealed the Irish's fate. 1. Offensive Flatline Until Panic Mode CJ Carr, in his first-ever start, flashed upside with two passing touchdowns and a scrambling TD late in the fourth—but it came after the Irish were down 14 and the game was already slipping away. Until then? Ice-cold. Notre Dame’s cherished ground game, anchored by Heisman hopeful Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, was largely AWOL—combining for just 78 rushing yards on 16 carries. As Freeman leaned on his arm, not his offense, the illusion of balance crumbled. 2. Road Jitters: Broken by History and Habit This wasn’t just a loss. It was déjà vu. The Irish have now lost seven straight road games against the Hurricanes since 1977. A rivalry game—just not one they understand anymore. 3. Defense Overpowered, Special Teams Tickled Miami ran two consecutive 75-yard touchdown drives—one to open the second half and another right after halftime to blow the game open. Defensively, Notre Dame folded. And special teams? Carter Davis knocked in a 47-yard game-winner with barely over a minute left—after Notre Dame’s unit had blitzed the Hurricanes with heat-free opportunities. That is the final, pitiful checkbox: simply surrendering a game-winning field goal. 4. Blame-Free Zone… Seriously? Coach Marcus Freeman described it as “a top-10 fight” and claimed “the effort was there”. Effort alone doesn’t win games. Preparation, schemes, and execution do. For all their hype, the Irish looked sluggish, overconfident, and completely unprepared—especially in the trenches. ** Final Score Snapshot** Miami 27, Notre Dame 24
In Summary: A Humiliating Start to the 2025 Season Notre Dame came into this game with swagger, pre-season prestige, and national attention. What they delivered was stale offense, woeful defense, and a special-teams fiasco. Miami made all the big plays—a one-handed miracle catch, timely turnovers, 75-yard marches, and ice in the kicker’s veins. The Irish? A meltdown in four acts:
What do you think?  1. The X-Factor Quarterback Controversy and Opportunity: With Riley Leonard departing for the NFL, the Irish face a pivotal quarterback transition. CJ Carr, a redshirt freshman five-star recruit with a rocket arm and poise, battles Kenny Minchey for the starting role. CJ Carr has been handed the reigns to start at Miami, FL for Week 1. 2. A Familiar Playbook, Refined Execution: Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock returns for his second season. Continuity in system means more precise reads, expanded play-calling, and a higher ceiling for production. 3. Ground Control: A Terrifying Backfield and O-Line: Notre Dame’s rushing game is a juggernaut. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combine for one of the most potent running back duos in the nation, backed by an offensive line rich in experience and cohesion. The depth of the running back room will be vital for the progress of Carr as QB. Love is seen as the number 1 running back in college football and if he has an incredible season could see him in New York at the end of the season as a Heisman Trophy candidate. 4. Receiver Corps: Youth Meets Veteran Depth: The wide receiver group is awe-inspiring in its potential yet light on experience—averaging under ten games per player—but bolstered by transfers Malachi Fields and Will Pauling, plus big-play 6'7 tight end Eli Raridon. This dynamic mix could redefine ND’s aerial attack if given time to jell. Evan J. Thomas is predicting that Jaden Greathouse will have a breakout season. 5. Defense on Alert: New Leadership, Proven Talent: Defensive coordinator Chris Ash steps in after Al Golden departed for the NFL, inheriting a defense ranked among the nation’s best. While depth remains strong, the defensive line, especially the tackle position, remains a concern that could test the unit’s resilience. Evan J. Thomas is predicting that Safety Adon Shuler will be the teams defensive MVP. 6. Offseason Changes: Gains and Departures: Several NFL departures—including Leonard and All-Americans like Xavier Watts—shake up the roster, but key additions such as DL Jared Dawson, WRs Malachi Fields, Will Pauling, CB DeVonta Smith, and TE Ty Washington inject promise and talent. 7. Opening Stage: High Stakes at Miami: The Irish kick off their campaign with a high-profile Labor Day weekend showdown against the Miami Hurricanes, tipped as narrow favorites by sportsbooks. A season-opening win would firmly position Notre Dame among the early playoff contenders. Evan J. Thomas has the Irish winning 31-17 to start 1-0 going into their first bye week. 8. Roadblocks and Rivalries: Syracuse & Boston College Loom: Matchups against Boston College and Syracuse carry both rivalry fire and potential pitfalls. BC enters as heavy underdogs, but as the Irish have faced stumbles before, these games demand focus. 9. Betting Landscape: Title Dreams & Playoff Paths: Odds give Notre Dame a real shot:
Final Verdict: Blueprint for Success—or Letdown Notre Dame enters 2025 with championship velocity, stacking strength in the trenches, backfield, and defense. The pivotal hinge? The quarterback. If Carr—or Minchey—can remain steady and take incremental steps, the Irish are poised for another deep playoff run. Throw in a gritty Miami win and a cohesive supporting cast, and Notre Dame might not just contend—they just might conquer. Evan J. Thomas Prediction: Notre Dame 12-0 regular season, makes the CFB Playoff  |
AuthorEvan J. Thomas is an award winning photographer, podcast & Radio host, media mogul and all around "Creative Genius". Archives
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