No. 21 Notre Dame is relying on a high-scoring offense to get back into the playoff picture

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — No. 21 Notre Dame protected quarterback C.J. Carr in his first career start, a top 10 matchup on the road.

Since unleashing Carr in the second game, the Fighting Irish offense has become a scoring machine.

Notre Dame has topped the 40-point mark in three straight games and the 50-point mark in each of its last two, and they may need to do it again when high-scoring Boise State visits South Bend on Saturday.

“Where he’s at, is rare,” coach Marcus Freeman said before Carr makes his fifth career start. “Performing at the level he’s playing at is rare. But C.J. Carr is rare. He’s blessed with great talent and has the unique trait very few people have — he’s a competitive, selfless individual. Whatever it takes to win, he has that trait, and he’s mature in the way he prepares. It leads to improvement and really good results."

Carr certainly has been turning heads. He leads all freshmen nationally in yards per attempt, yards per completion, passing efficiency and passing yards per game, and ranks in the Top 20 in each of those categories among all quarterbacks.

But he isn't doing this alone.

The Irish (2-2) have one of the nation's top rushing duos, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. They've combined for 614 yards and 11 TDs on the ground and are showing they can catch the ball by combining for four more scores through the air. Price also has a kickoff return for a TD.

“You want to stop the run? Good, OK, we can beat you. We can throw 400 yards like we did last week,” Notre Dame running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider said. “You want to take that away? Well, we can run for 200, 300 yards, whatever it takes to win.”

Notre Dame's receiving corps is rounding into form, too.

Jordan Faison has lived up to the high expectations with a team-best 19 catches while the supporting cast seems to be improving by the week. Malachi Fields has been a solid second option, Eli Raridon looks like the next in a long line of good tight ends to play at Notre Dame and Will Pauling, the transfer from Wisconsin, caught his first TD pass last weekend.

Add another good offensive line, a favorable schedule and the prospect of Carr's continued improvement to the mix and the suddenly strong Irish offense could carry this team — if given the chance.

“I don’t know he’s ever going to get all the keys to the Ferrari, but, I mean, we’ll let him take it out for a spin every once in a while,” offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said, referring to Carr running the offense. “He’s done a nice job with it.”

They can't stop now, either, given Notre Dame's narrow margin for error.

Two early losses, at then-No. 10 Miami and at home against then-No. 16 Texas A&M by a total of four points, put Notre Dame's playoff hopes in jeopardy and although it has rebounded with lopsided wins over Purdue and Arkansas, one more loss would almost certainly eliminate the 2024 national runner-up from the playoff picture.

The next step in the long road back is against another playoff team from last season, Boise State. The Broncos (3-1) rebounded from their 34-7 season-opening loss to South Florida with their usual style — scoring 49 points per game in routs of Eastern Washington, Appalachian State and Air Force.

With Notre Dame's defense still struggling, the offense may need to exceed its three-game scoring average of 50.7 points over the past three weeks, creating the possibility of a shootout Saturday, a prospect Faison embraces.

“It’s very fun,” Faison said. “I mean, we go in there with the expectation of doing whatever it takes to win. We might score seven points, we might score 50 points, doesn’t matter. But hey, it’s obviously fun knowing that we’re going to go into there and try to perform.”

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