Jaden Greathouse’s long-awaited breakout at BYU earned him more than a box-score line. It also got him national recognition.
After Notre Dame’s loss to the Cougars on Saturday, Greathouse was named a Comeback Player of the Week, one of six players chosen for the honor this week. The performance stood out because it was the kind of game the Fighting Irish have been waiting to see from him since his MVP-level stretch in the 2024 College Football Playoff against BYU.
Greathouse put together a career-best night in the receiving game, finishing with eight catches for 125 yards. That made him the third Notre Dame wideout this season to top 100 receiving yards in a game. It was also the second-highest yardage total of his career, behind only his 128-yard outing in the CFP National Championship game.
He averaged 15.6 yards per catch against BYU and added a season-long 38-yard grab on fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Around the broader college football conversation, Notre Dame has also been pulled into the growing debate over the sport’s direction as the College Football Playoff expands to 24 teams next year. With the change looking inevitable, there has been discussion about conferences scrapping championship games altogether. The Big 12 says it plans to do that, though it is also talking about replacing the title game with something else.
Central Michigan coach Matt Drinkall came out strongly against the 24-team format and offered a blunt critique of how the sport has changed in recent years.
"All everything since COVID has just 100 percent been reaction. No one has ever said "OK, well if we do this, what does it look like 15 years from now?"
"What does this look like 10 years from now?" "Is this in the best interest culturally of everyone?"
"... It's just like everybody went nuts at once.
And it's just been a downward spiral that is nonstop until it's going to be a smoldering dumpster fire left like the Truffula trees and the Lorax. Like they're going to ring this sport out for every cent they can as long as they can and prostitute the sport for financial gain."
Notre Dame’s 2027 schedule already includes Auburn, Clemson, BYU, Duke, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, and Virginia. Kent State had been on the slate already, but it has been moved up to the season opener.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Landed A Rare 2027 Opener Change
Notre Dame has a little extra clarity for 2027 now, and it comes with a scheduling twist that changes the feel of the season before it even begins. The Irish will open against Kent State at Notre Dame Stadium on Aug. 28, moving the game up from the originally listed Oct. 2 date and giving the program its first home opener since 2020. It also adds a first-time opponent to the mix in a game that carries a bit of added resonance because Kent State is the alma mater of the late Lou Holtz.
For Notre Dame, the switch is less about novelty than it is about the shape of the early season, with another confirmed matchup now set in place on the calendar. It also alters the terms of the original arrangement, which included a $1.3 million guarantee payment to Kent State, underscoring how these nonconference deals can shift long before the teams ever take the field. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Fans Have A New Reason To Watch BYU This Week
No. 2 BYUs trip to UCF gives Notre Dame fans a fresh scouting opportunity, and it comes with a little extra intrigue for the Irish after the Cougars handled then-No. 2 Notre Dame earlier this season. UCF is getting ready to host a top-five team for the first time, so the Knights are treating the matchup as a measuring stick, with Scott Frost and several players talking about the lift that comes from playing at home and the challenge of going after an undefeated opponent.
For Notre Dame, the bigger draw is simple: another look at the team that already showed it can beat elite competition, this time in a different setting and against a defense trying to find ways to slow quarterback Bear Bachmeier. UCF is still looking for its first win against a top-five opponent, which only adds to the stakes, but from an Irish perspective the game is a chance to watch how BYU handles pressure on the road and whether the Cougars can keep rolling after their win in South Bend. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Carr Is Giving Notre Dame Fans A New NFL Dream
As the 2027 quarterback race has taken shape, the early buzz around Arch Manning, Dante Moore and Julian Sayin has been complicated by uneven play and injuries, leaving evaluators searching for the most complete passer in the class. That search has helped turn the focus toward CJ Carr, whose rise at Notre Dame has been built less on flash than on the kind of traits NFL teams tend to trust most: pre-snap command, accuracy and a steady feel for the offense.
Carrs showing against BYU offered another reminder of why his stock keeps climbing. He looked composed under pressure and comfortable working through the details that separate a college producer from a pro prospect, which is why some see a passer in the mold of Matt Ryan or Drew Brees. For Notre Dame fans, it is a familiar and oddly exciting place to be again, watching a quarterback develop into a national name while the bigger question is not whether he belongs in the conversation, but how high that conversation will eventually go. [Read more 🡒]