Why CJ Carr Deserves a Spot in the Heisman Trophy Race

While Notre Dame (2-2) tries to make its uphill climb back into College Football Playoff contention, the Fighting Irish have been getting incredible production from redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr.

Carr has made all four starts this season and after a slow first half at Miami to begin, he's been lights out since.

After his 354 yard outing that included four touchdown passes against Arkansas, Carr sits 1,091 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and just two interceptions one-third of the way through the regular season.

That's impressive enough and Carr has received some massive praise for his start to the season. But is he getting enough?

National Praise for CJ Carr Pours In

Carr has received national praise from several, and on Wednesday received even more. Joel Klatt of Fox Sports called Carr a top-three quarterback nationally on his podcast, while predicting that Notre Dame is going to "kill people the rest of the year."

Check out the video of Klatt saying that as well as his thoughts on Notre Dame's College Football Playoff outlook below.

Fox Sports’ @joelklatt has Notre Dame in his current College Football Playoff projection as the No. 11 seed.

He says the Fighting Irish have “a really potent offense” and a top 3 QB in the country in CJ Carr.

“I think that they’re going to kill people the rest of the year.” pic.twitter.com/xHrbVnXIJL
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) October 1, 2025

Klatt isn't alone in his thinking, former NFL quarterback turned football analyst for ESPN, Dan Orlovsky, agreed with Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson's assessment of Carr as a future first round draft pick.

That's nice and all, but ESPN reporter went even a step further, calling Carr a future first overall draft pick this week.

I am not a NFL Draft expert, and this is just his fourth game, but based on his accuracy, touch, athleticism and reading of defenses, it would not surprise me if Notre Dame’s CJ Carr was the first overall pick in 2027.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 27, 2025

CJ Carr Should Be in the Heisman Trophy Discussion

What's funny is that when you look at all these Heisman Trophy projections a month into the 2025 college football season, despite all that praise Carr has received, he's nowhere to be found in the conversation.

He's not on top 10 lists, he's somewhere beyond an afterthought when it comes to the award this year, but he's still racking up all this praise of a star.

According to FanDuel's latest odds (October 1, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. ET), CJ Carr sits as a +2500 bet to win this year's Heisman Trophy. That ties him for having the 12th best odds in the nation currently, as Dante Moore of Oregon currently leads the pack at +600.

Ty Simpson (Alabama), Carson Beck (Miami), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), and Julian Sayin (Ohio State) all fit the mold of quarterbacks of highly rated teams who currently have +1400 or better odds to win the award.

One Play is Keeping CJ Carr Out of Heisman Discussion Currently

The truth is, one play that CJ Carr had nothing to do with is what is keeping him from being towards the top of that Heisman Trophy list.

The play?

The refs just allowed a Texas A&M player to tackle the Notre Dame player (41) about to sack the QB.

On 4th down. To win the game.

Notre Dame got screwed. pic.twitter.com/94gJQWxRDG
— Extra Juice | Sports Betting Podcast (@ExtraJuicePod) September 14, 2025

If that blatant holding is called instead of ignored, chances are Texas A&M is stopped on its fourth and goal from the 21, and Notre Dame beats the Aggies on September 13.

All of a sudden then Notre Dame is currently 3-1 instead of 2-2 and sitting safely inside the College Football Playoff projections.

Although the Heisman Trophy is supposed to go to the most outstanding player, we all know that nine times out of 10, it goes to the quarterback of a top-five team by default. The fact Notre Dame is just 2-2 a month into the year keeps the Irish from that top-five spot and hence, keeps Carr from being in the Heisman discussion, despite getting as much future draft praise as any quarterback this season.

Not Too Late for Carr to Make Heisman Push

What pass by CJ Carr 👀pic.twitter.com/gHzwFlxSUv
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 1, 2025

Carr might not be towards the top of the list now but the potential for him to make up ground certainly is. As we all know, Notre Dame's remaining schedule is beyond favorable and the chances for him to do to other teams what he did against Arkansas should be fairly regular the next two months.

There isn't that marquee game for Carr to have a "Heisman Moment" the rest of this year, unless perhaps the USC game turns into a 56-54 shootout victory for the Irish.

While I have a tough time imagining Carr can do enough to get back into the discussion to actually bring the award home this year, the remaining schedule makes him an interesting pick to potentially end up in New York as a finalist at season's end.