Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylen Sneed (3) celebrates a tackle against the Boise State Broncos during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Notre Dame Dominates Boise State in Statement Win

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By John Kennedy | Last updated Oct 5, 2025 8:16 PM ET

Notre Dame's defense came out to play in a big way Saturday, looking like its old self as it welcomed Boise State to South Bend.

Heading into this game, the top item of intrigue from the Notre Dame side was clear. Could Chris Ash's defense continue to improve and build on what it accomplished against Arkansas and most of the second half against Purdue. The answer to this was a resounding yes.

Notre Dame's defense is starting to resemble what Irish fans have come to expect from this side of the ball. The irish gave up just 13 points to a previously explosive Arkansas offense and only surrendered seven to Boise State. Even with some lingering frustrations, this is winning football. If Notre Dame played this kind of defense or even anything close to it in the first two games, the Irish may very well be ranked as the best team in the country right now.

The Irish defense is settling in. The players seem more comfortable, more aggressive, more downhill focused, which is causing more havoc, and freer to fly around and make plays. This unit isn't perfect, but it is taking huge strides in the right direction, just in time for NC State and USC. By any metric, this outing was a great success for the Notre Dame defense.

IRISH WIN IN GREEN ☘️#GoIrish☘️ | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/8nxaSGxQR9
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 4, 2025

Notre Dame's offense cooled down, which is fine

While Notre Dame's defense took major strides in the right direction, the Irish offense didn't have the crispest day. CJ Carr did not have his A game in the pass game, and that's ok as long as the offense can still do enough to win, which it did.

If an "off game" for CJ Carr as a starter in his fifth game is 189 yards for two touchdowns and no interceptions, sign me up. While this game was a choppy watch due to the absurd amount of penalty stoppages, it was very comforting in a way.

Notre Dame won this game the old Irish style. With defense being a key contributor. Just like last week. This is a major development. The best part is, assuming reasonable health, the Irish defense will continue to get better throughout the season.

As for the offense, it'll get better as the year moves along as well. If Carr was ever going to have a less-than-A-level passing day, this was a great game to have it. Notre Dame got what it needed today. A confidence-boosting win. As an added bonus, multiple upsets of teams ranked ahead of Notre Dame are welcomed unexpected gifts as well!

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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