We are starting a new Sunday column looking back at the previous Notre Dame football game. It’s essentially hits and misses, but since our weekly radio show is the Irish Football Fix, we’ll call it Hits and Fixes!

Be sure to tune in Monday night at 7 p.m. on Pulse FM for the latest episode of Notre Dame Federal Credit Union’s Irish Football Fix.

GAME: Notre Dame 52, Rice 0

RECORD: Irish are now 2-0

HITS

ADON SHULER

The Irish captain “set the tone” with his bruising hit two plays into Saturday’s home opener that resulted in a Rice fumble that Boubacar Traore scooped up and returned for a Notre Dame touchdown just 14 seconds into the game.

For a team that’s had issues in early-season games under Marcus Freeman, that was an instant statement.

And it was more than just a fast start. Notre Dame forced five Rice fumbles and recovered four of them in the game.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

Six days after a physical game against Wisconsin, the Irish showed zero signs of a letdown against an inferior opponent.

Marshall. Northern Illinois. We’ve all seen it. This team wasn’t letting THAT happen again.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 42-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

CJ CARR

Last week, he took what the Wisconsin defense gave him, and that was short passes. Marcus Freeman described him as making the right decision 99% of the time against the Badgers.

Carr was able to take deep shots this week and showed why he’s one of college football’s top quarterbacks.

He completed 16 of 20 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns, and he did it while playing only the first half and one series of the third quarter.

PROTECTION OF CARR

CJ Carr said after the game he felt like he didn’t even play in a game because he was never touched by Rice.

He wasn’t kidding.

Carr was able to operate with plenty of time and was never sacked. In a long season where you cannot afford to lose him, keeping Carr from taking hits is a massive win for the Irish offensive line.

BACKUP QBs PLAY

Carr also didn’t feel like he played a game because he only played a little over half a game.

Noah Grubbs was solid in his first action, completing 7-of-10 passes for 73 yards. And while Teddy Jarrard had limited opportunities, he got out there in a real game and looked comfortable, completing both of his passes, including a 20-yard completion to Devin Fitzgerald.

Both will need experience in case anything were to happen to Carr this season.

KYNGSTONN VILIAMU-ASA

KVA saw his first action of 2026 after suffering a torn ACL in the home finale last season. Marcus Freeman said KVA showed early in the game, with a big tackle for loss, that “he’s back.”

When KVA was asked if he felt that was the case, he said, “I mean, I felt like I’d been here the whole time. Yeah. Never left.”

Then he burst into a big laugh.

KVA finished with five tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery in just 17 plays.

FIXES

IRISH RUN GAME

While Notre Dame protected CJ Carr and Carr was able to throw downfield, the Irish didn’t show dominance in the run game.

Aneyas Williams had just nine carries for 29 yards. Just six days earlier, he rushed 20 times against a physical Wisconsin defense. He looked sluggish against Rice.

The whole run game did. The Irish finished with just 118 rushing yards on 32 attempts, an average of 3.7 yards per carry.

WHO IS THE 2ND WIDE RECEIVER?

Jordan Faison is the clear-cut No. 1 Irish wide receiver, and he could certainly be a HIT after catching four passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns Saturday.

But the drop-off to the No. 2 wide receiver is very noticeable.

At this point, is Micah Gilbert the No. 2? He had a great touchdown catch. Is it Jaden Greathouse? He had his most productive game since January, 2025.

If Mylan Graham, with all his talent, isn’t going to torch Rice, are we sure he’s going to muster much against anyone that’s any good?

The Irish spread the wealth to a lot of different pass catchers. Twelve different Notre Dame players caught a pass Saturday.

But you know how they say, if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one?

Well, if you have that many pass catchers, is anyone truly standing out?

TIGHT ENDS

Cooper Flanagan scored a touchdown, but outside of that, the tight ends didn’t have a huge impact on the game.

That probably isn’t a major concern after a 52-0 win, but it’s something to monitor when the Irish need options.