After a fantastic freshman season, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr is among those who are considered favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2026. Can the Fighting Irish signal-caller really win the award in just his sophomore season? One ND analyst believes there's a recipe that can be followed that would guarantee it. Carr needs to take a page out of Fernando Mendoza's book.
Rivals' Tyler Horka is the analyst who believes that if Carr can lead his squad to an undefeated season, the quarterback will lock the Heisman down. That might sound like a no-brainer, but there's some nuance behind it.
The first degree of difficulty is that, even as good as Notre Dame has been the last few years, it hasn't posted an undefeated season since 1988. That season was coincidentally the last time the Irish won a National Title.
Can CJ Carr really win the Heisman Trophy in 2026? To do it, it'd be wise to pull a page from the Fernando Mendoza playbook.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) February 15, 2026
Indiana won all of its games in 2025. If Notre Dame goes 12-0 this year, Carr's chances of taking home the hardware are boosted.https://t.co/lDja9FuFZ4 pic.twitter.com/wV7lgmr0Cr
How CJ Carr can follow a proven blueprint to win the Heisman for Notre Dame
2024 demonstrated more than most how hard it can be to go undefeated even with a very, very good team. The Irish dominated most of their opponents in the regular season, but they also lost to Northern Illinois in South Bend.
In 2026, Notre Dame is expected to mow through its schedule. Miami in November is easily the most difficult opponent, having made the CFP Title Game this past winter.
Horka pointed out it's about more than simply going 12-0 as well. Mendoza led Indiana to an undefeated season, but there were plenty of chances to lose in the regular season. Every time the Hoosiers were in trouble, Mendoza led them to victory. CJ Carr needs to do that as well. He needs to show that even if he's not playing his best game, he can rally himself and his troops to a victory.
That's a signature of most quarterbacks, even if their team goes undefeated. One case in point Notre Dame can look to is Joe Burrow in 2019. The LSU offense was a juggernaut, but he had several one-score games that he had to win.
Especially with the schedule that Notre Dame has in 2026, CJ Carr could have a historic season. He could have a Heisman season. But he can't lose a game, if he wants to do it.