Notre Dame football hosts the Rice Owls this weekend for the Fighting Irish home opener at Notre Dame Stadium.

Head coach Marcus Freeman and his squad are fresh off a convincing 41-13 opening-season victory over the Wisconsin Badgers at Lambeau Field, and they will look to continue that early momentum against an inferior opponent. Quarterback CJ Carr, running backs Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr., and a dominant defensive front all figure to play prominent roles as Notre Dame aims to start the year 2-0.

The Fighting Irish had a rough first half against Wisconsin before rattling off a 28-3 run after the break, and this matchup with Rice presents a perfect opportunity to put together a more complete performance. Notre Dame should have very little issue during this contest, but there are still storylines worth monitoring as the team continues to build chemistry and depth heading into tougher games down the road.

Final score prediction: Notre Dame 52, Rice 3

Rice is built on running the football. Former Miami and UCF transfer quarterback Jacurri Brown leads the Owls, and for anyone who has seen Brown at either of his previous stops, he is not much of a passing threat from the quarterback position. What he is, however, is a capable running quarterback, and Rice will hope to establish that quarterback run game early because it represents the only chance the Owls have to keep things respectable for any conceivable amount of time.

The return of Preston Zinter, the former Notre Dame linebacker turned Rice tight end, adds a fun narrative layer. I don’t think it will have much of an impact on the outcome, though.

Passing game storylines to watch

I expect Notre Dame to try to get its passing offense going early, and it would be great to see Carr make a couple of explosive plays to someone not named Jordan Faison.

Keep an eye on wide receivers Mylan Graham and Jaden Greathouse in the slot. After that duo hauled in just a single reception during the opener against Wisconsin, I wouldn’t be shocked if the staff really tries to get the slot position going against a weaker secondary.

Micah Gilbert could also have an interesting day from the boundary. He made a couple of solid receptions last week and will hope to continue building off that confidence with a larger role in the offense.

Running back usage in a blowout

When Notre Dame gets up by a large margin, I expect the run game to be featured heavily. I wouldn’t be shocked if this is the game where we really see a high dosage of Kedren Young in the second half.

He didn’t touch the ball much in the opener last week, but this presents a perfect opportunity to get him into a rhythm. True freshman running backs Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne could also see the field during this contest.

Notre Dame’s defense should suffocate Rice

On the defensive side of things, I just don’t see Rice being able to move the ball consistently, especially without a semblance of a solid passing attack. The Fighting Irish front was tremendous last week, led by transfers Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray. There is no reason to think they can’t repeat that performance and be even more dominant against an overmatched Owls offensive line.

I think you can count on two fingers how many times the Rice offense will pass the 50-yard line during this game. This should be a blowout, and if it isn’t, there might be some bigger issues worth talking about. For now, give me Notre Dame 52, Rice 3. The Fighting Irish dominate from start to finish and head into the rest of September feeling even more confident at 2-0.