The Carr Stalls at a Crucial Moment
While Saturday night in Provo, Utah, was a calamity of errors for the entire Notre Dame football team, the performance of CJ Carr was possibly the most disappointing given the opportunities that were presented.
Photo by IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
It all began with the expectations Carr had coming into this season. Whether it was the Heisman hype, the talk about his control of the offense in spring camp, the competitiveness coaches raved about, or the reports coming out of the Manning passing camp, Irish fans expected Carr would be his best in the big moments. Last Saturday was that big moment. And while the stat line shows nothing inherently poor, he didn't play well enough to win a tough road game.
On the first drive of the game, Carr showed early signs that it was not going to be his night. Carr was able to put a solid drive together, getting Notre Dame in plus territory after BYU scored on the opening drive. Unfortunately for the Irish, they would have to match BYU's touchdown with a field goal after Carr missed a wide-open Jordan Faison for a touchdown. Faison was left unguarded on a seam route to the end zone. Carr did well to recognize the open man, but he completely missed the throw. As it became a theme all night, Carr put too much on the ball, overthrowing Faison by several yards. It was the start of a pattern of the Notre Dame offense having to settle for field goals in scoring opportunities, which is a major reason they lost this game.
The play that everyone has pointed to as a perfect encapsulation of Carr's performance is the botched spike attempt at the end of the first half. Down 21-10 after a rough start to the game, the Irish had a chance at the end of the half to regain some momentum and cut the lead to one score. The offense did a good job of moving the ball quickly down the field for a touchdown or even three points. Before the fumble, Carr was off again on a throw to Jack Larsen in the corner of the end zone. Larsen was able to create some separation, but Carr overthrew him on what would've been a touchdown. Just a couple of plays later, Carr would then fumble the snap on the spike, denying Notre Dame any chance at points before halftime. A BYU defender later admitted to simulating a fake "hut" which may have confused Carr, leading to the fumble. Whether that was the case or not, Notre Dame fans expect a seasoned starter at QB, with first-round buzz, to have more composure than that on the road in a big-game environment. Mistakes like the one Carr suffered are often the difference in these sorts of games, and it was on Saturday night.
The Faison missed throw and the fumbled spike are getting a lot of the attention as it relates to Carr's performance, but Carr was simply off the entire night. Carr is known for being surgically accurate, poised, and intelligent from the pocket. On Saturday night, Carr was consistently missing throws, forcing plays that weren't there, and making bad reads. Even when passes were caught, Carr was making catches harder than they needed to be for receivers. He seemed adamant about looking for an explosive play to open the game up instead of taking what the defense was giving him. Some of these decisions are ones that led to Notre Dame's deficiencies on offense. They settled for a field goal on the missed throw to Faison. They scored zero points at the end of the half after moving the ball inside the 10-yard line. In the second half, they once again settled for a field goal after special teams stopped a fake punt inside BYU territory. After that, they failed to capitalize on a BYU turnover, settling for a field goal for a third time. This is where Notre Dame lost the game. The offense, led by Carr, had plenty of chances to reduce the BYU lead and even build a lead, but the offense failed to execute. This has become a pattern in big games, and it simply won't cut it.
By the end of the game, Carr went 27-49 for 261 yards and zero touchdowns. Against the eighth ranked team in the country on the road, he was just not good enough - but he was obviously not the only problem on the night. In games where the defense is not at its best, or the other team is playing really well, it is the star QB who is expected to put the team on their back. Instead, it looked like the moment may have gotten to Carr, leaving him jittery all night. Carr and the Irish offense have one final chance in an upcoming matchup against Miami to dispel the narrative surrounding their big game woes. Whether or not they can exorcise those demons will remain to be seen.
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