After righting the ship against Purdue at home, the Irish took a trip to Fayetteville to face one of the highest-powered offenses in the country. Through four weeks, Arkansas ranked top-10 nationally in yards per play (552) and yards per play (8.12), presenting a daunting task for an Irish defense that has looked a shell of its 2024 self.
Notre Dame knew going in that they would need their foot on the pedal offensively. Despite the 0-2 start, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock seemed to finally find the right formula: Dominate on the ground to unlock the passing attack. In the first quarter, that is exactly what the Irish did, marching down the field for a touchdown on both of their two offensive drives. Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr went 5-6 for 93 yards while the junior backfield duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price managed 6.7 yards per carry. Between missed tackles and blown coverage assignments, Arkansas could not keep up defensively. Love scored both touchdowns, one on the ground and the other through the air.
The Razorbacks found more success on the other side of the ball early on. Winning the toss and electing to receive, quarterback Taylen Green put together a field goal drive to take an early 3-0 lead. They marched down the field to end the quarter, eventually punching it in from the 1-yard line on a handoff to offensive lineman Shaq McRoy, cutting Notre Dame’s lead to 14-10. For the rest of the day, that was as close as they would get.
Notre Dame’s offense kept rolling in the second quarter. They scored on all four of their possessions en route to 420 yards of total offense in the half. Senior wide receiver Will Pauling caught his first touchdown of the season to cap off a six-play, 75-yard drive in under three minutes. After forcing the first three-and-out of the game on either side, the Irish went 70 yards in five plays, this time in just over a minute. A brilliant screen design set up Love with a convoy to the end zone, walking in untouched to extend the lead to 28-10.
Arkansas answered with a field goal drive that brought it within two possessions, but Notre Dame responded once again. This time, it took just over three minutes and 12 plays to cover 75 yards. Love finished the drive with his fourth score of the day, breaking a tackle on a 3-yard touchdown run. Disaster struck on the next possession for Arkansas, as sophomore safety Adon Shuler punched the ball out of wide receiver Raylen Sharpe’s hands and senior cornerback DeVonta Smith recovered for the Irish. Two plays later, Price was running into the Arkansas end zone. In just the blink of an eye, Notre Dame led 42-13.
Carr’s 294 first-half passing yards were the most by a Notre Dame quarterback since 2008. He put more high-level throws on display, one a sideline shot to junior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse through a big hit. He also got multiple pass-catchers involved. In addition to Greathouse and the two running backs, Carr connected with junior wide receiver Jordan Faison, senior wide receiver Malachi Fields and senior tight end Eli Raridon on multiple occasions. Beyond his production, he was in full command of the offense from start to finish. In only his fourth career start, Carr looks capable of leading his team to the mountaintop.
“There’s very few people that you come in contact with that are blessed with that leadership, competitive trait, I’m talking like not normal,” head coach Marcus Freeman said. “It’s more important for us to win than it is for him to play well.”
The outcome appeared to be all but decided after 30 minutes, but Arkansas showed the faintest sign of life to begin the second half, getting its first stop of the game and driving into Irish territory. However, the Irish secondary stood strong against multiple end zone shots to stymie the drive. Notre Dame took over after the turnover on downs and got right back to scoring. Carr led the team down the field, finding Faison for three 10-plus yard receptions before Price scampered into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day.
The Irish turned Arkansas over on downs once again and continued to pile on. Now fielding their second-team offensive unit, junior quarterback Kenny Minchey led Notre Dame’s eighth scoring drive of the game, ending in a 17-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Aneyas Williams. The Razorbacks made one last half-hearted attempt to do some window-dressing, but junior safety Luke Talich thwarted it with an interception in the back of the end zone. From there, the Irish were able to convert a couple of first downs and kneel on it, leaving SEC country with a lopsided 56-13 victory.
“Extremely proud of the way they prepared,” Freeman said. “I’m proud of both sides of the ball being able to do that, handle praise and handle criticism. Today was a really good three-phase effort, team win.”
Notre Dame put up a ridiculous 641 yards of total offense, scoring a touchdown on all but two of their drives, one of which was spent running out the clock. They gave up several chunk plays on defense, but held strong in the red zone and turned Arkansas over twice. Their three sacks in the game nearly doubled their team total for the season. Considering the reputation of the Razorbacks offense after four games, the performance was promising.
“It’s a choice that everybody has to make,” Freeman said. “This is us, it’s not Chris Ash, it’s not Marcus, it’s all of ours … if you want to pass blame, then you’re never gonna do the things it takes to fix it.”
Improving to 2-2 on the season, the Irish prepare to face Boise State next Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. They must remain flawless to keep hopes of a College Football Playoff spot alive, but today’s win gives reason to believe.
