Marcus Freeman Breaks Down CJ Carr’s Performance vs. Miami

CJ Carr made his first career start Sunday night as Notre Dame traveled to Miami for a top 10 showdown to start year. The game didn't end as Carr or Notre Dame had hoped, but with the expanded College Football Playoff these days, Notre Dame's national championship dreams remain a possibility.

Growth and improvement across the roster will be necessary for that to happen though, and happen quickly, as Texas A&M is set to visit South Bend on September 13.

One player who showed growth as the game went on Sunday night was Carr, who finished the game 19 of 30 passing for 221 yards (7.4 yards per attempt), two touchdowns, and one interception. He also rushed for what was the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Marcus Freeman Discusses CJ Carr Following Miami Game

CJ CARR.

TIE GAME#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/OVz4i35EeG
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 1, 2025

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was asked about his starting quarterback after the 27-24 loss to Miami, and gave an overall positive review of Carr's first start.

"He's going to be a really good quarterback," Freeman said, "Everything that I thought he was going to be.

"His ceiling is so high, " Freeman continued, "He's going to have to learn to take this loss and...not let it beat him up too much, because he's an ultra competitor.

"He's a gamer man. He performs when the lights are on. He prepares his tail off."

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

The fault of Notre Dame's offensive issues Sunday night falls on a lot of others before they fall on Carr. The film will need to be reviewed and whether or not his decisions to pull the ball on RPOs instead of handing it off need to be analyzed, but overall, tonight was a positive for the first-time starting quarterback.

Carr is clearly a gamer, and that's a great thing, but he's an incredibly talented quarterback. When offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock finally took the training wheels off and let Carr throw the ball downfield, Notre Dame's offense began to move the ball more regularly.

It doesn't fix the 0-1 issue and Notre Dame having to play the rest of the regular season with its back likely against the wall in terms of the College Football Playoff, but I'm not sure what more could have been asked of Carr in his first collegiate start.

Carr and Notre Dame return to game action on September 13 when it will play host to No. 19 Texas A&M under the lights at Notre Dame Stadium.