Notre Dame football rolled past the Rice Owls 52-0 on Saturday in the Fighting Irish’s home opener, a performance that featured standout play on both sides of the ball for head coach Marcus Freeman’s No. 3-ranked squad.

The blowout victory offered plenty to be encouraged about, from the wide receiver room’s continued development to CJ Carr’s poise at quarterback to a defense that smothered Rice’s passing attack. But as with any game against an overmatched opponent, context matters. There were greats, goods, and some potentially unsettling takeaways.

Let’s dig into what we learned from Saturday’s contest.

THE GREAT

Wide receiver evolution

During the season opener against Wisconsin, Notre Dame’s wide receivers were largely quiet outside of standout Jordan Faison. That changed Saturday. Faison, despite barely playing into the second half, posted 4 receptions for 54 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air. His production is expected at this point.

What made this outing encouraging was the involvement of the rest of the room.

Jaden Greathouse caught 3 passes for 48 yards in the first half. Starting boundary receiver Micah Gilbert hauled in 2 catches for 47 yards and a touchdown, the score coming from 39 yards out. Mylan Graham chipped in 2 receptions for 24 yards.

Beyond the starters, youngsters Jerome Bettis Jr., Logan Saldate, Elijah Burress, Matt Jeffery, and Devin Fitzgerald all made plays. Seven wide receivers had a reception of at least 20 yards. As a team, Notre Dame completed 25 of 33 passes for 360 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Seeing Greathouse begin to gain confidence, Gilbert make a tremendous contested catch for a touchdown, and the young talent flash gives this wide receiver room real momentum after a lackluster first week.

Bryce Young and KVA

Notre Dame has fielded one of the higher-ranked defensive units each of the last couple of years. There’s a chance, however, that this 2026 version under defensive coordinator Chris Ash could be the best of the Marcus Freeman era. If it is, junior defensive end Bryce Young and junior linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa will be the reason why.

Young, now at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds after playing in the 270s a year ago, looks sleeker and more explosive. He finished Saturday with 3 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. The athleticism has been on display through two games.

This contest also marked the return of KVA, who missed the back end of the 2025 season with an ACL tear. He tied for the team lead with 5 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss despite a limited snap count. Seeing the athleticism flash again is a great sign for a player who holds the key to unlocking the playmaking upside of this Notre Dame defense.

The secondary

Notre Dame allowed Rice to throw for just 64 yards on 8-for-12 passing. It started on the second play of the game, when safety Adon Shuler forced a fumble that Boubacar Traore scooped up for a touchdown.

Luke Talich contributed a tackle for loss while filling in for Brauntae Johnson, and the cornerbacks came to play in a big way. Joey O’Brien flashed among the younger players, and through two games, Christian Gray has been barely noticeable at nickel, which is a good sign that he is maturing in that position.

Bigger tests are on the horizon, but so far this Notre Dame secondary has lived up to billing.

CJ Carr’s comfort

It was a routinely solid day for Carr, and that might be putting it lightly.

He completed 16 of 20 passes for 253 yards and 4 touchdowns while playing only a drive into the second half. The raw numbers are strong, but the comfort he played with stood out most. He stayed poised and in command, even when pressed outside of structure on the touchdown throw to Gilbert.

This was probably the calmest and most composed we have seen Carr, and as he becomes more battle-tested, the evolution of a very good young quarterback is becoming visible.

Defensive tackle duo

For the second straight game, transfer defensive tackles Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray made their presence felt. Gray is a sight to behold at about 6-foot-5 and 320-plus pounds, while Brew, at only 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds, continues to be unblockable as a pass rusher.

This duo has a chance to be Notre Dame’s best defensive tackle pairing since at least Howard Cross and Rylie Mills. They have lived up to the high expectations from the moment Notre Dame grabbed them out of the transfer portal this offseason.

Notre Dame still has a kicker

For the second straight game, Purdue transfer kicker Spencer Porath was perfect. He went 1-for-1 on field goal attempts and 7-for-7 on extra points. Higher-leverage kicks will come, but for the first time in several years, probably since Justin Yoon, most Notre Dame fans feel like just about every kick is probably going to go in. Porath has been exactly what this team needs: comfort when things maybe aren’t going perfectly and a big kick needs to be made.

THE GOOD

O-line is improving

There’s a strange narrative that Notre Dame’s offensive line did not play well against Rice. After watching the All-22 film, I greatly push back on that.

For the second straight week, left guard Anthonie Knapp was a butt kicker in the run game. His ability to transition power in tight windows is jarring, and someone on the Notre Dame side should be keeping a record of his pancakes, because they were once again served up. He has taken to the left guard position about as well as anyone could expect.

Left tackle Will Black was tremendous outside of one rep where he overset and allowed an inside counter. The 6-foot-7, 316-pound blindside protector didn’t miss many assignments, was sound in his technique, and won the majority of his reps. His ability to work to the second level and not whiff is eye-popping for a player of his size. It’s still early, but Will Black certainly looks the part of the next great Notre Dame left tackle.

The rest of the line was more up and down.

Sullivan Absher was just okay in his first start. Ashton Craig was good. Joe Otting saw time at center in the second half, a solid depth-building move. Guerby Lambert was solid again despite giving up a couple of inside moves, and his pass protection remains a work in progress.

The biggest concern was Styles Prescod, who got reps at both tackle spots and continued to show a lack of power. If an injury hits either tackle, I imagine Knapp would be the answer to swing back outside rather than Prescod.

Cam Herron had some good reps but looked overmatched at the point of attack at times. James Flanigan also deserves mention as Notre Dame’s best blocking tight end in this game, delivering blows on the second level with a couple of pancakes himself. Cooper Flanagan was solid in the run game as usual, but James Flanigan was the better of the two.

Linebackers

KVA is the best linebacker on this team when healthy. Drayk Bowen was rock solid, nothing spectacular but gets the job done. Jaiden Ausberry has been very solid the last couple of weeks. With KVA healthy, all the rest of this Notre Dame linebacker room needs to be is solid to good. If they are, this group has a chance to be one of the better linebacker rooms in the country.

The young running backs

Jonaz Walton led the team with 48 yards on 8 carries. The true freshman at 214 pounds is an explosive runner with a ton of power, and I think he needs to play a whole lot more. Redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr., who was a star in the passing game against Wisconsin with 4 receptions for 67 yards, looked good as a runner on Saturday. I would hope that Notre Dame gives both Walton and James even more looks in the backfield going forward.

THE BAD

The run game

The diversity in Notre Dame’s run game has been absent under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock through two games. Everything looks the same. With a diverse group of runners, Notre Dame can mix and match run schemes more efficiently. I want to see more pre-snap motion to get the second level of the defense’s eyes moving. It can just be better.

The run game needs to take a step forward, but I think it starts with scheme. The offensive line did not play poorly. I think they did at least a solid job. My biggest question is the running back rotation.

Aneyas Williams should be part of the rotation without question. He has good hands and is a tough, physical runner, but he did not look as explosive as a couple of the other backs.

I’m curious whether the next few weeks bring more of Walton, more of James, and a clearer picture of what the snap share should be. Maybe Javian Osborne gets increased touches to see if he can contribute as a true freshman. Kedren Young is another player who has not seen much action.

The next few weeks will be vital to sorting out the running back rotation, because through two games, the run game has not been good enough.

The tight end passing game

Notre Dame’s tight ends were somewhat efficient as pass catchers in the opener, but on Saturday they were an absent element of the offense. Cooper Flanagan had 1 catch for 2 yards and a touchdown. Outside of that, nobody in the tight end room recorded a reception, including a drop from Ty Washington. James Flanigan didn’t even get a target.

For this tight end room to be an all-around unit, Notre Dame needs to figure out how to keep defenses honest by working the middle of the field. Both Flanagan and Flanigan need more targets.

Ian Premer saw some snaps in this game, and I think Notre Dame needs to start figuring out how to get him on the field and target him in the passing game. Washington is a good veteran but did not block well in this game, and he is not a good enough player in either area to be out-snapping guys like Premer and Jack Larsen.

Notre Dame needs one of those younger guys as their tight end 3. I’m interested to see if they start getting Premer ready to contribute in this passing game.