Notre Dame Midseason Report Card: Dominant Defense, a Rising Backfield, and a Lesson in Provo
Notre Dame heads into its bye week at 6-1 and earns an overall midseason grade of B+, even after a 28-24 loss at No. 8 BYU snapped a 16-game winning streak in which every win came by double digits. The Irish entered Provo as the No. 2 team in the country, then watched their last drive end inside the BYU 10-yard line when a final pass into the end zone fell incomplete, on a play where the Big 12 later admitted a clock error. The loss exposed the thin spots on an otherwise elite team: finishing drives, protecting Carr under pressure, and closing games.
Report card
Unit | Grade | Why |
Offense | B+ | 41.1 points a game (sixth nationally), but three field goals and no touchdown passes at BYU |
Defense | B+ | The nation's top total defense through six games, with seven interceptions in that span |
Special teams | B+ | Led by a kicker with long range and a freshman punter who also holds |
Overall | B+ | 6-1, with the only loss a four-point road game at a top-10 team |
Offense: B+
The scoreboard says A, but the BYU game says there is still work to do. Notre Dame averages 41.1 points a game, sixth in the country, and quarterback CJ Carr was playing like a Heisman contender for most of the first six games. Through five games, he had thrown for 1,197 yards and 13 touchdowns with one interception, completing about 71 percent of his passes. At BYU he went 27 of 49 for 261 yards with no touchdowns, and lost the first fumble of his season trying to spike the ball at the end of the first half.
The running game is the best news of the half. Notre Dame did not top 180 rushing yards in any of its first four games, then ran for more than 240 at North Carolina, where Jonaz Walton, Nolan James Jr. and Aneyas Williams all averaged better than five yards a carry. Against Stanford, Walton, a true freshman, ran for 181 yards, a Notre Dame record for a freshman, including a 97-yard touchdown that ranks as the third-longest offensive play in Notre Dame Stadium history. At BYU, James led the team with 16 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown, and Walton punched in the go-ahead score from three yards out.
The receivers have been deeper than expected. Micah Gilbert had 18 catches for 368 yards through five games, including eight for 170 against Michigan State, the most receiving yards by an Irish player in a game since Chase Claypool in 2017. Jordan Faison was a major factor in the win at North Carolina, and Jaden Greathouse caught eight passes for 125 yards at BYU after a slow start to the season.
What keeps this from an A is finishing. At BYU, the Irish settled for three field goals, including twice after starting drives in BYU territory, and Carr missed Faison on a 29-yard touchdown on the opening drive. BYU stacked the box and dared Carr to beat it, and pressure from the Cougars forced hurried throws on the final drive. The offensive line has helped produce the explosive runs, with five Stanford touchdowns of 30 yards or more, but it will be tested by the better defenses still to come.
Defense: B+
This is the best unit on the team, and in year two under coordinator Chris Ash, it is playing like one of the best in the country. Through six games, Notre Dame had the nation's top total defense at 214.2 yards a game, 27.2 yards better than the No. 2 unit, and no opponent had reached 290 yards. The Irish held Stanford and Rice to fewer than 10 first downs apiece, something they did only once from 2018 through 2025. They had seven interceptions in those six games and ranked second nationally in turnovers forced.
The run defense has been the foundation. Before BYU, no opponent had topped 90 rushing yards against Notre Dame in seven straight games, and the interior line has stayed stout while rotating five or six players.
The defense held up in the loss too. BYU scored on its opening drive and added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, then scored only once after halftime, and Jayden Sanders intercepted a pass in the second half. The cost came late: Bachmeier's go-ahead touchdown pass to Walker Lyons with 1:47 left, and the ejection of edge rusher Boubacar Traore for targeting after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Bachmeier.
What keeps this at a B+ rather than A is a short list of repeat problems. Notre Dame gave up at least one big play against three of its first four Power 4 opponents; negative plays have come in bunches rather than every week, the blitz packages have been less effective than the four-man rush, and the linebackers have been vulnerable at times to play-action and bootlegs. Safety Brauntae Johnson has been out since the opener and is not expected back until November, and tackle Jason Onye has not played since the opener either.
Special teams: B+
Special teams was a question mark entering the year after the offseason departures of the kicker and punter, and it has settled into a quiet strength under coordinator Marty Biagi. Purdue transfer Spencer Porath opened the season with a 52-yard field goal against Wisconsin and, after one miss against Michigan State, was otherwise perfect on field goals and extra points through the first three games. He was on the Lou Groza Award watch list entering the season.
Freshman Jasper Scaife, a 6-foot-6 Australian who had never played football before arriving in South Bend, handles the punting and has also taken over holding for Porath. He boomed a 51-yard punt at BYU. In that game, the Irish also recovered a muffed BYU punt return at the Cougars' 41, which led to a field goal.
The unit has been steady rather than spectacular, which is why it grades a B+ and not higher.
Who has stood out
Jonaz Walton, RB. The true freshman has become the most explosive back on the roster, with 120 yards on 23 carries at North Carolina and 181 yards, including a 97-yard touchdown, against Stanford.
CJ Carr, QB. About 71 percent completions and 13 touchdowns through five games, and two fourth-down conversions on the final drive at BYU.
Boubacar Traore, DE. Through six games, he had 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception, and he is the best all-around edge defender on the team.
Bryce Young, DE. Tied for the team lead with 5.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. When he and Traore are on, they are as good as any edge pairing in the country.
Leonard Moore, CB. Teams have mostly stopped throwing his way, and he has also improved against the run.
Luke Talich, S. Filling in for the injured Brauntae Johnson, he has two interceptions and 3.5 tackles for loss.
Micah Gilbert, WR. The offense's biggest surprise: 18 catches for 368 yards through five games and a 170-yard game against Michigan State.
Armel Mukam, DT. A breakout season on a line that rotates five or six players, with three tackles for loss.
Who has been disappointing
On a 6-1 team, the list is short, and most of it is about expectations rather than failure.
Adon Shuler, S. A playmaker who has also been prone to giving up big plays, he struggled in coverage against North Carolina. Expect opponents with a good tight end to test him.
Tionne Gray, DT. The transfer has shown flashes but has not yet taken the step the staff wants, and the interior rotation needs more from him down the stretch.
Jaden Greathouse, WR. He had only eight catches for 108 yards through the first five games, well short of what a healthy Greathouse was expected to produce. His eight catches and 125 yards at BYU suggest that is already turning.
CJ Carr, QB, at BYU only. A bad night rather than a trend: 27 of 49 with no touchdowns, a missed 29-yard touchdown on the opening drive and a first-half spike fumble that wiped out a scoring chance.
Boubacar Traore, DE, at BYU only. The targeting ejection removed one of the defense's best players from the game and was a self-inflicted blow against a top-10 opponent.
Red-zone finishing. Three field goals at BYU, two of them after the Irish started drives in BYU territory, and a spike fumble that wiped out a scoring chance before halftime. That is the clearest weakness the offense needs to fix.
Who needs more playing time
Jonaz Walton, RB. James led the Irish with 16 carries at BYU, even though Walton has been the most productive back since North Carolina. The case for making him the lead back, with James and Williams in complementary roles, is hard to argue against.
Joey O'Brien, S. The freshman started against Purdue and was outstanding. With Brauntae Johnson out until November and Shuler up and down in coverage, the staff should get him more snaps.
Jaden Greathouse, WR. He's been underused in stretches, and Carr went to him on the last play at BYU. A bigger share of targets would help an offense that stalled in the red zone.
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, LB. He missed two games, but when he is on the field, he is a major impact player as a pass rusher and blitzer, and the blitz packages need that kind of boost.
Second-half outlook
The bye week comes at a useful time. Notre Dame has until Oct. 31 to fix its finishing before facing Navy in Foxborough, Mass., then returns home for Miami on Nov. 7, followed by Boston College on Nov. 14 and SMU on Nov. 21 at Notre Dame Stadium, and a Nov. 28 finale at Syracuse.
Reinforcements are coming. Safety Brauntae Johnson is expected back in November, and tackle Jason Onye, who was listed as questionable for BYU, would add experience to the interior rotation. With this defense and a quarterback of Carr's caliber, the ceiling remains high, but the loss gives the Irish less room for another slip.
Go Irish!
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