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Notre Dame QB CJ Carr unveils solution every Irish fan wanted to hear while discussing his biggest blunder in loss to Miami

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Ryan Roberts | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 10:21 AM ET

Losing football games is never easy, especially when you are the starting quarterback for Notre Dame, but redshirt freshman CJ Carr had a lot of positive moments during their 27 to 24 opening season defeat to the Miami Hurricanes. After a bit of a slower start, Carr managed to heat up in the second half. He would finish the night 19 of 31 for 221 yards and three total touchdowns.

A known perfectionist at the position, the 6-3, 210-pound passer isn’t going to spend much time talking about his positive moments on Sunday night. The competitor in Carr is going to just think about the loss, and hyperfocus on the mistakes he made. None will be dissected more than his second-half interception while down 21 to 14.

On that particular play, the Fighting Irish were running an RPO concept. Instead of handing the football to running back Jeremiyah Love, Carr chose to pull it and try throwing the wide receiver screen to Jordan Faison. After the football was tipped up into the air a couple of times, Hurricane defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. was able to come down with the interception.

The Notre Dame defense was able to stiffen up following the turnover, only allowing a field goal out of it. They would eventually tie it up 24 to 24 before Miami kicked a late field goal to capture the victory. Following the game, Carr was asked about that turnover, his first in a Notre Dame uniform.

Carr didn’t shy away from the blame. He already has the solution for that blunder moving forward.

“I need to continue to get a better feel for what our offense needs in the moment,” Carr told the media after the game. “A lot of times it’s going to be Jeremiyah Love. On the pick, I should have just given him the ball specifically, and cost us a big play. I just have to keep growing.”

Whatever social media you frequent, one of the biggest areas of scrutiny that head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish offense faced following the game was the inability to feature the running backs. A preseason All-American by every major publication, Love carries the ball just 10 times for 33 yards. He also made four receptions for 26 yards as a receiver.

To add to the frustration, running back Jadarian Price only managed to rush six times on the night for 45 yards. With sacks included, Carr actually ended up with 11 carries, the most on the Notre Dame team. You have one of the very best backfields in college football, and that duo of Love and Price needs to be highlighted more consistently moving forward.

While it’s hard for Fighting Irish fans to hear right now, this loss could be a great learning moment for Carr moving forward. For the first time in his life, getting the football out of his hands at times might be the best play. He has a cheat code next to him in Love, and Carr realizes that feeding him might be the wiser decision in some of these critical moments.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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