Marcus Freeman Had Better Be Right About CJ Carr: 20 Final Thoughts Before Notre Dame Plays Miami

Notre Dame vs Miami: The Irish Need CJ Carr to Come Through

Notre Dame is better than Miami. It has the stronger lines, more talent, better coaching, stronger overall mindset - at least it appears that way coming into the season. But …

Marcus Freeman had better be freaking right on this CJ Carr call, because 1) it's Notre Dame, it could've had any transfer quarterback it wanted, and 2) that guy on the other side might just be that good.

It’s uh-oh time if Carson Beck is back to form. Everyone remembers the Georgia offense sputtering last year, and how he struggled in key moments, and how the team seemed super-charged in the SEC Championship after he got knocked out just before halftime. However …

There was a reason Beck was considered the possible No. 1 overall pick in the draft - whenever he was going to come out - after the 2024 season. He was brilliant with the Bulldogs, played like he was in total command, was accurate, confident, and …

He had Brock Bowers to throw to. 2024 Georgia didn’t have a Brock Bowers, and the receivers were mega-meh, which is why it went hard to the rim to upgrade the explosion through the transfer portal.

 This Miami team has far better weapons than last year’s Georgia team had. It has the wheels on the outside, pop in the backfield, and while he’s not Bowers, Hurricane tight end Elija Lofton is going to be a problem.

There’s a serious chance that, other than Tyler Shough, 2025 Carson Beck will be far better than any quarterback Notre Dame faced in 2024.  

Other than the Northern Illinois faceplant, the Irish beat everyone else until the Penn State win by double-digits, except for … Louisville. Shough threw for 264 yards.

Sam Hartman worked out well, and Riley Leonard - another quarterback who was thrown out there in the draft-o-sphere as a possible top draft prospect before the wheels came off in his last year at Duke - was obviously terrific.

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman arrives before playing against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Let me put it this way, it wouldn’t have been totally crazy if the Irish somehow ended up with Beck, or Nico Iamaleava - who has NOTHING around him at UCLA - or any of the top transfers out there. So …

CJ Carr had better be good enough. He doesn’t have to throw for 300 yards, and he doesn’t have to do anything more special than simply relax and let everyone else do the work.

Basically, if Notre Dame gets out of Carr what Ohio State got out of Julian Sayin in the win over Texas, all should be fine.

The Buckeyes barely got to 200 yards, but they didn’t turn the ball over, didn't force anything, and they got the one big deep shot out of Sayin. Carr can do that, and Notre Dame sure as shoot has the running backs to carry the load.

(Forgotten in the fog of last year was that Notre Dame only gained 244 yards in the win over Georgia.)

And that was one of the big storylines on Saturday. Ryan Day and Ohio State figured out right away that the defense was going to own the game. Notre Dame’s defense should be able to stop Miami, and that starts by getting to Beck. Duh.

Carr doesn’t have Beck’s experience. He also doesn’t have the time logged in of a Cade Klubnik, who looked totally ordinary once the speed and pressure of the LSU pass rush kicked in. This isn’t hard. Let Beck get comfy, and there’s a problem. But ..

The Irish coaching staff had an entire offseason to figure out how to keep that from happening.

Carr will be great. The moment won’t be too big for him.

However, if Carson Beck comes out of this as the Thomas Castellanos - who Alabama could’ve had for nothing - and Carr is the Ty Simpson … | @PeteFiutak