The CJ Carr hype train comes off the tracks during Notre Dame’s heartbreaking road loss against BYU
Notre Dame had the top spot in the AP poll, sitting right in front of it. What does this result mean for CJ Carr’s legacy?
Notre Dame’s 28-24 loss to the BYU Cougars came on a day when the Georgia Bulldogs fell to Auburn, Alabama lost, and Miami struggled with Florida State. A 6-0 Irish team ranked No. 2 in the AP poll had a clear path to the No. 1 spot in the updated rankings.
That did not happen. Notre Dame blew a golden chance to convince everyone that this could finally be the year head coach Marcus Freeman gets the program over the mountaintop.
Plenty went wrong. The first-half defense struggled, the offense was static, and the coaching staff made poor decisions on that side of the ball. Still, it starts with quarterback CJ Carr.
CJ Carr’s performance against BYU
When you are the quarterback at Notre Dame, your performance in a win or a loss is going to be put under the microscope more than just about anybody else’s in the country. That’s a good thing. Great quarterbacks should want that type of gravity and pressure.
Carr finished 27-of-49 passing for 261 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. That works out to just 5.3 yards per attempt. He added six carries for 13 yards and lost a fumble.
This loss doesn’t fall solely on Carr. When you are a player of his magnitude in the biggest game of the season, though, you have to stand tallest.
When the team lacks energy, the quarterback needs to be the reason everyone around him starts to believe. Trailing 21-10, the message should be that the Irish are coming back. Down 28-24 with a minute and a half left and the ball in your hands, everyone should feel like a win is on the way.
That’s what a great quarterback makes a fan feel. I didn’t feel it.
On that final drive, I never once thought Notre Dame was going to win. I had initially written this as an ugly 24-21 Irish win in an article. I changed it before the last drive, before the last throw, and before the no-call on what looked like pass interference.
Maybe that’s some scar tissue from years of watching this program. It was a strange feeling regardless, because I had convinced myself that Carr was the quarterback who would make the big play in the biggest moments. He did lead a couple of big drives in the second half, but it never felt like enough, even when they held a 24-21 lead.
Missed opportunities and a costly spike
Carr was a huge part of why Notre Dame lost. He missed an easy touchdown to Jordan Faison early, and he missed another touchdown to Jack Larsen in the second half. He also left several other throws on the field that he typically makes against most teams.
Then there was the spike. With six seconds left in the second quarter and the Irish trailing 21-10, Notre Dame looked poised to come away with a touchdown or at least a field goal.
Spiking it was the correct call. Carr took the snap under center, didn’t have a handle on the football, and basically hurled it on the ground instead of spiking it. The quick whistle probably should have made it a dead ball, but it was a fumble.
That’s a turnover and two tough misses for touchdowns. Carr left a lot of points on the board in a four-point loss.
Over the last two regular seasons, it felt like close games could slip away because Notre Dame’s field goal kicking wasn’t good enough. Now the Irish finally have a kicker in Spencer Porath, whom I have very high trust in. The kicking wasn’t the reason they lost this one.
It was, at least partially, the quarterback many are projecting as a top-10 pick in the 2027 NFL draft if he chooses to declare.
The Miami game is next for CJ Carr’s legacy
One game doesn’t define Carr. Whether he’s the quarterback just for 2026 or returns for 2027 as a fourth-year junior, his legacy is going to be built on what he does in the biggest games.
Last season, Notre Dame lost to Miami and Texas A&M. The Irish lost to the good teams on the schedule. This season, they lost to the first good team they faced.
Carr is a good quarterback. What separates good from great is what he does in the biggest moments, and that’s how he’ll be remembered.
Miami is up in a couple of weeks, and slow starts aren’t an excuse anymore. Carr had 18 starts under his belt going into this game. He’s a second-year starter now, and nobody wants to hear about his first two starts in a Notre Dame uniform.
The pressure on the Notre Dame quarterback is significant, and Carr is going to get torn apart for this one. He should. He came to South Bend for a reason. He chose to play the hardest position in sports at a place that demands it.
Whether he goes around that pressure or through it, he needs to figure it out against the Hurricanes, and hopefully again in the playoffs. This was an abrupt halt for the CJ Carr hype train, but hopefully it gets on the tracks against Miami.
