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