The Notre Dame football team has gotten off to a very rocky 0-2 start to the season. However, it would be safe to say that the offense is not really to blame thus far.
Against a revamped Miami defense that was the 'Canes' focus in the offseason, the Irish scored 24 points on the road, totaling over 300 yards of offense. They then followed that up with a 440-yard performance against Texas A&M, scoring 33 offensive points.
All of that is to say that there have been some really encouraging and positive surprises on the offense so far this season. If the Notre Dame football is going to turn this thing around, they definitely need these three players to keep turning in A+ efforts.
Notre Dame football found a keeper in CJ Carr
Coming into the season, the biggest question mark for the entire team was at the quarterback position. Redshirt Freshman QB Carr battled all summer long with Sophomore signal caller Kenny Minchey. For a while, it even appeared that Minchey was going to win the job.
However, Coaches Marcus Freeman and Mike Denbrock gave the job to Carr, noting his upside, downfield accuracy, and poise in the pocket. What Carr has done through two games, against two top 10 teams, has been nothing short of spectacular.
Carr was 19/30 for 221 yards and two scores on the road in his first career start against Miami. He also added 40 non-sack rushing yards and a score on the ground in that game, when the Irish had virtually no running game.
He then followed that up with a 20/32 for 293 yards and a touchdown in game two as a starter against Texas A&M, who just jumped into the top 10 in the country.
In both starts, Carr also led the Irish on game-tying or go-ahead score drives. Super impressive for a young player. Moving forward, Carr will need to continue to get the ball in the end zone for the Irish, especially if the defense keeps bleeding points.
Eli Raridon is ready to be the next great tight end
Over the years, Notre Dame has arguably become the best college program in creating NFL-caliber tight ends. It seems every year, Notre Dame is putting a tight end in the NFL draft.
Recently, that list would include Cole Kmet for the Chicago Bears, Michael Mayer for the Las Vegas Raiders, and Tommy Tremble for the Carolina Panthers. All-in-all, Notre Dame has put 26 tight ends into the NFL since 1966.
It looks like there will be a 27th. Eli Raridon has been really solid at TE after a few early drops against Miami. After finishing last season with just 11 catches for 90 yards, Raridon has already hauled in 9 catches for 182 yards this season, good for over 20 yards per catch.
Against Miami, Raridon had a 65-yard catch that set up the Irish for the game-tying score late. Against A&M, Raridon caught a trick play, a flea-flicker, that went for a big gain, setting up a Jadarian Price touchdown.
At 6'7" and 250 pounds, Raridon has the size and strength that NFL teams want. If he can consistently prove he can hit some big plays, many teams will have him on their draft boards come April.
Jordan Faison looks like a top Notre Dame football target
Coming into the 2025 football season, I think most fans would have ranked the wide receiver room in the following pecking order: Malachi Fields, Jaden Greathouse, Will Pauling, and then Jordan Faison.
Faison had a really promising freshman season where he caught 19 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns in limited playing time. Fans were very excited to see him grow going into last season. However, repetitive ankle injuries kept him from truly shining. Faison missed a lot of time, but still finished with 30 catches for 356 yards, mostly on check-downs or gadget plays.
Faison, now healthy again, has been Notre Dame's second-best receiver so far this year, commanding a lot of targets and hauling in seven passes for 50 yards already, trailing only Malachi Fields in catches and yards. I don't necessarily think that this trend will continue, as it is only a matter of time before Greathouse really gets going. He did finish with two catches for 41 yards in the second half against Texas A&M.
Nonetheless, Faison does bring elite athleticism, shiftiness, and reliability to the group, something that can't be said for all of the receivers so far this year. This has definitely earned him some easy targets on screens and check-downs, and I think Faison will continue to play a large role in the Notre Dame football offense against Purdue.