Quarterback battles are always wonderful to watch before the season begins. To be honest, who doesn’t want to watch players battling it out on the field and producing their best performances in a bid to be the QB1? Notre Dame, unfortunately, didn’t have that in 2024, since Riley Leonard, coming from Duke, was always going to be the QB1. Moreover, in 2023? Sam Hartman from Wake Forest donned that blue and gold behind the center. But the 2024 season not only brought in a winning momentum after the Fighting Irish went into the national championship final. But also brought in a QB battle between CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey, and Steve Angeli. The battle began in the spring practices last month, and now the winner has likely emerged, but concerning news awaits him in the prediction pipeline.
Steve Angeli decided to transfer to Syracuse when the spring transfer portal opened up. That left us with just CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey as the main quarterbacks. Both guys have skills, and CJ Carr seems to be the favorite right now. But the QB competition is still wide open. Marcus Freeman has been clear about the importance of this battle and mentioned that it’ll carry on into fall camp. Recently, a well-known college football insider picked CJ Carr to take the lead, but they also brought up a pretty grim scenario.
Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, Rob Stone, the Fox Sports host, and former Bama running back Mark Ingram were discussing Notre Dame’s chances in their first game against Miami. Rob picked CJ Carr to stand behind the center but cautioned that a tough schedule lay ahead. “CJ Carr looks like he’s going to be the guy leading them into a schedule that is definitely challenging. And it starts with a big one on the road in Miami on Sunday, August 31.” Well, a solid case can be made for CJ Carr’s candidacy for QB1.
A 4-star recruit of the 2024 class, Carr appeared in just one game in 2024 without gaining any yards. Still, the QB has shown time and again his precision passing and quick decision-making. Add to that his ability to evade pass rushers. You just got yourself a potential starter. Moreover, if you take his senior season at high school as a benchmark, then the player can surely throw that ball. He completed 198 of the 298 passes for 2,754 yards for 254 TDs after passing for 2,685 yards in his junior season. So, yes, the talent is there. That said, Mark Ingram, speaking on his 15th May episode of ‘The Triple Option,’ still sang a cautionary tale for Carr.
The former Saints RB picked Carson Beck to lead Miami to victory in his first matchup against Notre Dame. “Against an experienced Carson Beck, who wants to prove himself from last year? I’m gonna go with the experience in a week one battle. I’m gonna go with the experience of Miami over Notre Dame because I think you have a quarterback with, what, three years of starting experience going against a newly red-shirted quarterback.” Well, Carson Beck has a whole lot to prove, and his experience in Georgia will be his guiding light.
Carson Beck passed for almost 4,000+ yards in 2023 at a stellar 74% efficiency. Moreover, the guy backed it up with another season where he notched up close to 3,700 yards, although at 7% less efficiency. Beck’s downgrade of the 2024 season was the result of UGA’s faulty O-line and the team leading the country in receiver drops. Still, the QB had to bear the brunt of media and fans after UGA’s season ended abruptly against Notre Dame in the playoffs. So yes, Carson Beck will be playing with a chip on his shoulder, and CJ Carr will have to produce something unworldly to come out of the game victorious.
Notre Dame handed over a major disadvantage after a crucial update
Notre Dame has long enjoyed their freedom and independence for well over 40 years, flying solo. In all that time, the team has never looked to be at a disadvantage. The $22 million per year NBC deal, the playoff money, and all that by deciding which teams they will play and which they will not. That was working fine until they struck a deal with the ACC in 2026 for 5 games per year till 2036. The deal alone might not have created too many complications, but then came another deal.
The Irish signed a new 12-year deal in 2025 with the Clemson Tigers to play games till 2038. The deal was earlier speculated to work inside that ACC deal structure, thus keeping 5 games with the ACC per year intact. But then came the ACC commissioner’s update, and all of it changed with the Irish sinking in a major muck.
Brett McMurphy shared the update on his X account. “ACC commish Jim Phillips said the recent Clemson-Notre Dame annual series the schools added does not count toward the 5 games the Irish must play annually against ACC teams each year.” What this update did was to force Notre Dame to play 6 games a year against ACC opponents, which again becomes a major disadvantage. All in all, the Irish will have to play 6 games every year against ACC opponents. 2 games more, and the team is a de facto ACC member, right?
The post More Trouble for Marcus Freeman as Tough CJ Carr Verdict Issued Amid Notre Dame’s Major Disadvantage appeared first on EssentiallySports.