Marcus Freeman could still have a shot at making the playoffs, having pulled off a much-needed-win in Week 8. But that does not mean Notre Dame didn’t falter. It was the star of the show for the Irish that ended up disappointing fans. CJ Carr never fully clicked into the game, leaving star RBs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to do the rest of the work. Love opened up about the advice he gave to the young QB in such pressure situations.

“What I try to do is, you know, tell him to just keep your head on straight, taking one play at a time. Forget the last play, whether it was a good one or whether it was a bad one. And, just keep going, man. Because, you know, each and every single play matters,” the RB told the press after the game. Carr had to depend on Love and Jadarien Pierce to fill in for his mistakes. The RBs put forward a whopping 306 yards on the ground, but the QB seemed way out of his comfort zone. To add to the misery, Carr ran for -7 against USC.

It wasn’t all bad. Carr made a risky dive from USC’s 1-yard line in the fourth quarter to effectively put the game out of reach. But throughout the rest of the night, the young QB seemed unlike himself. Incompletions was a constant issue, causing the passing game to take a backseat.

Carr’s average of 15 yards per completion ceased to exist against USC. He was also picked off once in the game, and missed 10 passing attempts. Love’s advice to Carr couldn’t help him much on Saturday. “You can’t let the last play affect your next play or this play,” the RB added in his advice to the QB, “I just got to try to preach that to CJ whenever he’s out of his, you know, mind,” Love said. “Just make sure that he, you know, has his mind right to go out there and execute.”

Notre Dame should have an easy time for the rest of their season, after this major win. But CJ Carr needs to do some serious introspecting before he returns next week. Marcus Freeman also seemed to be worried about how Carr performed in such a lackluster way against USC.

Marcus Freeman dejected in CJ Carr for USC blunders

Freeman was lucky the rest of his players showed up against the Trojans as CJ Carr stumbled throughout the night. The QB had been brilliant during the Irish’s winning streak. But maybe USC being a big opponent triggered his rookie jitters. Freeman was disappointed in Carr’s performance last night. “It’ll be interesting to talk with CJ in our weekly meetings, just [to know] what he felt,” the HC said in the post game presser.

“I mean, if he knew what was causing those incompletions, he would have corrected [them].” Freeman added. That’s exactly what Carr didn’t do. Those incompletions continued piling up, and the memory of that panicked interception won’t be easy to forget. He did come back (somewhat) in the second half. But Carr just didn’t seem like the quarterback he has been so far in 2025. His passing yards against USC are the lowest they’ve been this season, hauling in just 136. This game also marks his second consecutive interception, which shows that CJ Carr needs a reset immediately.

“He’s an ultra competitor,” Freeman said, still having belief in Carr. “I don’t want him to use it to be a negative thing against him,” he added. Carr is lucky to have an offense as powerful as this one rallying behind him. But he still has to soldier on for some more years, while the most integral elements will move on to the pros. Will CJ Carr emerge as a true leader or falter under the immense responsibility?