The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is still celebrating the win over Stanford, but Marcus Freeman and Co. got some bad news this weekend. For the second time this fall, the Fighting Irish learned that one of their Blue-Chip recruits will miss the rest of his senior season due to injury.
- Wide receiver Julius Jones Jr. is out for the rest of the 2026 season after hand surgery. Jones finished his 2026 campaign with 13 catches for 206 yards and three scores, becoming St. Thomas Aquinas's all-time wide receiver yards leader and surpassing Cameron Benson’s career mark of 1,885 total yards earlier this fall.
- Jones joins quarterback commit Champ Monds, who saw his season end prematurely for the second straight year after dislocating his shoulder and deciding to undergo surgery in hopes that it will fix the issue once and for all.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
- With the Irish at 6-0, it's time for Notre Dame to start the toughest part of its 2026 schedule. First up is No. 8 BYU in Provo, Utah this weekend. Marcus Freeman's squad is expected to win handily, and they'll have an even easier time with the confirmation that starting running back LJ Martin is out with a lower-body injury for the next few weeks.
- In the Notre Dame Fighting Irish win over Stanford, Leonard Moore missed the game with a concussion. However, Christ Ash's defense didn't miss a beat when Jayden Sanders took his spot on the depth chart.
- Sanders made the most of his opportunity on Saturday, tying for the team lead in defensive snaps with 39 and posting an 86.3 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus. When he talked about why he was able to play so well so quickly, he credited the idea that "iron sharpens iron"
- “I come from a high school where we have something when you walk in, it says, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ So just me in this great DB room that I keep speaking about and keep coming up. I feel like they challenge me every day, and the receivers on the other side of the ball do too. I feel like both rooms are very good, and we challenge each other to be the best every day.”
- Some midseason statistics for Notre Dame’s rush defense: Third nationally, allowing 2.1 yards per carry. Third nationally, allowing 58.3 rushing yards per game. On 167 rushing attempts, Notre Dame allowed zero rushing touchdowns to running backs (and only one total, to a QB).
- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are overwhelming favorites on Saturday against BYU. Not only are the oddsmakers considering the Golden Domers for a blowout, but ESPN's FPI metrics show the Cougars with just a 21% chance of winning on Saturday. That's a bit surprising considering they're ranked No. 8 in the country and they're at home.
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