CJ Carr has put together the kind of numbers most quarterbacks would happily build a career on. But at Notre Dame, the conversation always comes back to the same missing piece: the win that changes everything.
That opportunity is sitting right in front of him Saturday night against No. 1 Miami.
Carr arrived in South Bend with huge expectations, and the Michigan native has delivered in plenty of ways. If his Notre Dame career ended today, he would own the program record for career quarterback rating.
The No. 2 quarterback, Kevin McDougal, would be closer to No. 5 quarterback Ian Book than he would be to Carr. Carr would also be tied for No. 1 all-time in completion percentage, with Riley Leonard, while Jack Coan sits just behind him - and both of those players only spent one season with the Irish.
Still, the résumé has one glaring hole. Carr has not produced a signature victory yet.
He helped Notre Dame beat a pair of ranked teams in 2025, but he was not at his sharpest in either one, including the 34-24 win over USC and the 37-15 win over Pittsburgh. And against Top 10 opponents, the results have not come. Carr is 0-3 in starts against Top 10 teams, with the latest setback a 28-24 road loss to BYU last month.
That doesn’t mean Carr was the reason Notre Dame lost those games. Far from it.
Against BYU, he dragged the Irish back from a 21-7 second-half deficit and tied the game at 24-24 with a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The week before, in a 34-34 game in the fourth quarter, he guided a 74-yard drive that put Notre Dame ahead 40-34 with 2:53 left.
Even in the BYU game, Notre Dame’s 24-21 fourth-quarter lead came in part because of a 38-yard Carr completion on third down and a fourth-down conversion with his legs.
But each time, the defense under Chris Ash let the lead slip away. Carr still had one last shot against BYU, and his final pass fell incomplete. Another Top 10 game got away.
Now comes another swing at the kind of win quarterbacks at Notre Dame are judged by.
Saturday night against Miami is more than just another game on the schedule. It is the kind of chance that can reshape how Carr is remembered in South Bend. He is already tracking toward becoming one of the more productive passers in school history, but Notre Dame quarterbacks are measured by the biggest moments, and Carr still needs one.
There’s also the matter of how Notre Dame has used him this season. For whatever reason, the Irish staff has seemed to keep the reins tight.
As a redshirt freshman, Carr threw for at least 290 yards in four games, all of them coming in the first eight. He hit at least 10.0 yards per attempt in four games as well.
Through eight games in his second season as a starter, he has not reached 265 yards in any game, and he has topped 10.0 yards per attempt only twice. His passer rating has dipped a bit, even with an 18-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The offense has looked cautious, almost too committed to the ground game, and it has not always given Carr the freedom to play like the star he is supposed to be. Notre Dame seems to have taken some of the gunslinger out of his game, and Carr himself has also had some uncharacteristic misses lately. He needs cleaner decisions and more big-time throws.
That said, Miami gives him a chance to attack.
Marcus Freeman’s conservative lean could push Notre Dame toward the run again, but the matchup says there should be openings in the passing game. Miami comes in with the 122nd-ranked pass defense in the country, and the Hurricanes have allowed 326.7 passing yards per game and 10 touchdown passes over their last three games. They’ve also given up 31 points per game during that stretch.
Carr has the chance to do what his numbers have not yet done for him: deliver the defining win.
In Other News...
CJ Carr Is Giving Notre Dame Fans A New Reason To Watch 2027
The early look at the 2027 quarterback class has already given Notre Dame fans a reason to keep one eye on the future, and CJ Carr is a big part of it. The latest evaluation of the group puts Carr in the mix with some of the sports most closely watched names, alongside Drew Mestemaker, Darian Mensah and Arch Manning, while also stressing how much can still change as those players keep building their rsums.
For Notre Dame, the intrigue is obvious because Carrs progress is not just about draft boards, it is about what kind of quarterback the Irish may have on their hands in the seasons ahead. The broader class still comes with plenty of uncertainty, from who will declare to who will stay in school, but Carrs place in the conversation is enough to make 2027 feel like more than a distant calendar date in South Bend. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Fans Are Tired Of This CFP Schedule Double Standard
The latest round of College Football Playoff talk has put Notre Dames schedule back under a microscope, and the familiar debate over independence is flaring again. CFP chair Hunter Yuracheks comparison of Notre Dames slate with Indianas only added fuel, especially for fans who have watched the Irish get judged by a standard that seems to shift depending on the week and the team involved.
Joining the ACC is being floated as the easy answer, but the reality is more complicated than that. Notre Dame already has a scheduling agreement with the league, and a full move would not automatically turn the Irish into a schedule-strength juggernaut, especially if it came at the expense of the non-conference games that help define the programs identity. For a fan base tired of hearing the same criticism, the real frustration is that the fix being suggested may not fix much at all. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Defense Faces Its Toughest Test Without Its On-Field Leader
Notre Dames defense is heading into its biggest challenge of the season with a major piece missing, as senior captain and middle linebacker Drayk Bowen will sit out against No. 1 Miami because of a lower body injury. Bowen has been the on-field leader of the unit, so his absence shifts both the structure and the voice of a defense that has already had to navigate a string of injuries this season.
Senior linebacker Jaiden Ausberry is expected to shoulder more of the communication and leadership load in Bowens place, a significant responsibility in a matchup that will demand sharp alignment and quick adjustments. For a defense that has leaned on depth and experience all year, this is the kind of test that can expose every weakness, especially against an opponent with the speed and firepower Miami brings into the game. [Read more 🡒]