Notre Dame Football Overwhelms Rice 52-0 Behind Four Owls Turnovers

Notre Dame got exactly the afternoon it was supposed to get after all the talk of previous home openers going awry for the Fighting Irish under Marcus Freeman. Rice came to Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday without the bodies to stay in the game, gave the ball away four times, and lost 52-0 in a game the Irish had settled before the first quarter was half over.

Boubacar Traore returned a fumble for the first touchdown on Rice’s second snap of the night. C.J. Carr threw two touchdown passes to Jordan Faison in the opening quarter, and Faison returned a punt 37 yards to set up a third score before halftime. Nolan James Jr. ran in two from a yard out in the second quarter, one of them after a Notre Dame fumble recovery gave the offense six yards of field to cross. It was 42-0 at the break. Carr threw his fourth touchdown pass in the third quarter, and the rest of the night belonged to Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard.

Two games into the season, Notre Dame has handled Wisconsin 41-13 and shut out a team that could not hold onto the football. Carr has six touchdown passes and no interceptions, and neither opponent has asked him to make a throw into real coverage.

Rice Gave It Away Early

Safety Adon Shuler got to Davis Lane a yard behind the line of scrimmage on Rice’s second snap and knocked the ball loose. Traore picked it up at the 24 and walked in, and Spencer Porath’s kick made it 7-0 with 14:46 left in the first quarter.

The Owls handed it over the next one, too. Initially, safety Luke Talich, filling in for the injured Tae Johnson, knocked the ball out of Jacurri Brown’s hands at the Rice 40, though Brown recovered it himself. Three plays later, Rice fumbled for a third time, and this time the Irish recovered when Jaiden Ausberry fell on a botch exchange. Notre Dame took over at the Rice 38 and needed three plays, the last a 25-yard throw from Carr to Faison.

Rice’s following possession essentially ended after a chop block set them back. The flag wiped out a 12-yard completion to Jordan Clark and, with half the distance enforced, moved the Owls from their own 27 back to the 14. They punted again and seven plays later, Carr came back to Faison from 11 yards out, and it was 21-0 with 3:51 still on the first-quarter clock.

James and Faison Build the Halftime Lead

Sophomore running back Nolan James Jr scored both of Notre Dame’s second-quarter touchdowns from a yard out. The first finished an eight-play, 64-yard drive, the only conventional possession of the half. The second came after a Notre Dame fumble recovery at the Rice six yard line set up the Irish with a short field. James got there in two carries.

Faison set up the last one himself. He fielded Charlie Durkin’s punt with 1:59 left and brought it back 37 yards into Rice territory. Carr found Micah Gilbert for a 39-yard touchdown two plays after that. Notre Dame went to halftime with a 42-0 lead leading to an early exit for a lot of Notre Dame’s starters.

Carr did get one more drive in the second half and he ended it with his fourth touchdown pass of the day – a two-yard throw to Cooper Flanagan that capped a six-play, 75-yard drive. Porath’s 36-yard field goal on Notre Dame’s next drive closed the scoring. He finished 7-for-7 on extra points and made his only attempt from distance, 10 points on the night.

Carr Is Through Two Games Without an Interception

Carr went 16 of 20 for 253 yards. Noah Grubbs completed 7 of 11 for 78, and Teddy Jarrard went 2-for-2 for 29, which got Notre Dame to 360 through the air and 478 in total.

Jerome Bettis Jr. had the longest gain of the night, a 56-yarder among his two catches for 61 yards. Faison’s four receptions went for 54 and the two scores. Jaden Greathouse added 48 yards on three catches and Gilbert 47 on two. Freshman Jonaz Walton saw a lot of second half action and led the Irish in rushing yards with 48 yards on eight carries, including a 12-yard conversion on fourth-and-1 that put the Irish at the Rice 15 early in the fourth. James finished with 29 yards on six carries.

The Defense Allowed 128 Yards

Rice finished with 128 total yards, split evenly between the run and the pass, and converted 2 of 12 third downs. Brown completed 8 of 12 for 64 yards and carried 16 times for 32 more. Kahanu Kia knocked the ball away from him again with 5:54 left in the fourth, and Rodney Dunham recovered at the Notre Dame 16.

Notre Dame did not turn the ball over, took two penalties for 20 yards, held the ball for 32:18, and finished with 24 first downs to Rice’s seven.