The Notre Dame offense continues to roll in their third game of the season posting 49 offensive points and 535 total yards of offense in their first win of the season over the Purdue Boilermakers. So far, Mike Denbrock's unit, fueled by starting quarterback CJ Carr and a host of talent at the skilled positions, hasn't disappointed. Carr finished the night going 10 of 12 for 223 passing yards and had two passing touchdowns. He was extremely efficient and looked to take the next step in his evolution as a starting quarterback. Like we do each week, we've broken down our key takeaways from this exciting Notre Dame offense, a unit that will have to continue to perform and ascend as the season progresses.
The Offense Continues To Grow
The offense has been exciting so far in 2025, but we had yet to see them play a clean game. For the most part, we watched that happen yesterday afternoon. Carr took care of the football and didn't throw and interception. There was a strip sack fumble late in the second quarter that I don't put on the Michigan native. Left tackle Anthonie Knapp, at the very least, has to get a hand on the defender to give Carr a chance to step up in the pocket. That being said, this offense still got off to an extremely fast start scoring touchdowns on their first four offensive drives of the game.
Their first offense play of the game was a beautiful 66-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Malachi Fields. The offensive line, as a unit, continued to improve. Yes, they were playing a far inferior defensive line, but they blocked well in the run game and, outside of that one play from Knapp, protected the quarterback well. As a team, they averaged 5.9 rushing yards and their two lead backs averaged 8.3 yards per carry against Purdue. This is a Notre Dame offense that has a lot of potential and hasn't come close to reaching their ceiling.
Best Backfield In The Nation
In case there was any doubt, South Bend is home to the best running back tandem in the country. Junior Jeremiyah Love and redshirt junior Jadarian Price have put on a clinic the past two games for Notre Dame. Yesterday, the duo combined for 231 rushing yards and had six total touchdowns; Love had two rushing touchdowns and Price had three rushing touchdowns and added a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown to boot. They both averaged over 8.0 yards a carry last night and gave the Purdue run defense several problems. In the last two games, this duo has combined for 446 total yards of offense and has accounted for 10 touchdowns. Love continues to show his prowess as the top running back in college football while Price is letting everyone know why he should be considered a top running back in the country as well.
Emerging Wide Receiver Duo
The Notre Dame pass catching unit has been off to a hot start to begin the 2025 season. Two players in particular have stood out above the rest in the wide receiver room and that's been Fields, the Virginia transfer, and junior Jordan Faison. Yesterday, Fields had the outstanding opening play touchdown catch from Carr that went for 66 yards. Faison ended his night with five receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. The two have combined for 22 receptions, 358 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the first quarter of the regular season and that's with tight end Eli Raridon going for 97 receiving yards and 85 receiving yards in the first two games.
This pass catching corps for Denbrock has a lot of potential and still has yet to get guys like junior Jaden Greathouse and Wisconsin transfer Will Pauling involved. Carr has done a good job this season of spreading the football around, and they'll need all hands on deck as they prepare for a tough stretch of games over the next four weeks.
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