Things started poorly for the Rice Owls on Saturday and went downhill from there. The visitors fumbled away the football on their first two possessions and quickly fell into a 14-0 hole. Meanwhile, CJ Carr and Notre Dame took no prisoners and scored with embarrassing ease.  When the dust settled, the Irish put 52 points on the board before throttling down in the fourth quarter. Rice fumbled five times and lost four while Carr unleashed a devastating downfield passing game.

The Owls did not cross midfield until the final ten minutes. Quarterback Jacurri Brown remained on the field to lead their last ditch attempt to score. Predictably, it ended in yet another lost fumble. In fact, Rice accounted for 75 of its 128 total yards on this final possession against the Irish reserves. Notre Dame’s defense was dominant as they recorded eight tackles for loss.

Carr was 16 of 20 for 253 yards and four touchdowns. Backups Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard also saw action and went a combined 9 for 13 for 107 yards. More importantly, twelve different Irish receivers caught at least one pass.

Jordan Faison led the way with four catches and two scores. Fellow starters Jaden Greathouse and Micah Gilbert had five receptions between them, including a 39-yard touchdown by Gilbert. Tight end Cooper Flanagan also caught a short scoring pass from Carr. Reserves Mylan Graham, Logan Saldate, Matt Jeffery, and Elijah Burress added two receptions each.

Young players that are sons of NFL stars also got into the act for Notre Dame. Jerome Bettis had two catches, including a 56-yarder. Devin Fitzgerald caught one pass for 20 yards. Both showed excellent moves after the catch.

The Irish ground game again lacked explosiveness but Rice was obviously overplaying the run.  Nolan James and freshman Jonaz Walton were the most impressive runners among the five who saw action. Notre Dame gained only 118 yards on 32 carries while James had  two short touchdown runs.

Defensively, Boubacar Traore had a 24-yard scoop and score as Rice fumbled 14 seconds into the game. Safety Adon Shuler had jarred the ball loose from Davis Lane of the Owls. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa played well in his season debut. He had 1.5 tackles for loss and five tackles overall. Viliamu-Asa simply makes a good unit even better. Others who played well include Bryce Young, Jaiden Ausberry, Luke Talich, and Shuler.

Coach Freeman commented on the return of Viliamu-Asa to the field. “He made that play in the backfield early. I don’t know what down it was, but I kind of just chuckled a little bit. I said, he’s back. He’s a great player and it’s great to have his energy, his presence, the skill set, the playmaking ability. It’s great to have him back on that field where he belongs, but really proud of him. He did a good job.”

Freeman was also pleased with the defensive effort resulting in a shutout after a short week of practice. “Really proud of those guys,” he said. “Short week. A lot of different excuses that could be made. Last game was obviously a physical game. You know what? They just accepted every challenge that we threw at them.”

Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions:

• Will the Irish defense be adequately prepared for Rice’s complex option attack? Yes, the scout team did a great job. Irish defenders swarmed the Rice backfield all afternoon.

• Can Carr hook up with multiple receivers downfield? Carr hit everyone on the numbers except the Leprechaun.

• Will Notre Dame break off any rushes of 15 or more yards? Only James and Walton had runs of exactly 15 yards. Next week I will ask for 20.

• Can the Irish offense start fast and force Rice to play from behind? The Irish offense indeed started fast but the defense was even faster.

• Will Notre Dame clean up its special teams mistakes from last week? Not much to say here. Flawless kickoffs, one successful field goal attempt, 41 punt return yards by Faison.

• Can the Irish defense continue to score points? Traore’s score was the second defensive touchdown in two games. Who will be next?

• Which team will dominate time of possession? Notre Dame. The Owls fumbled the ball away before they could even go three and out.

• Can Notre Dame take advantage when Brown is forced to pass? Brown had only 18 yards passing through three quarters, so my Magic 8-Ball says “YES”.

Notre Dame will get back to battling the Big-10 for a couple of weeks. A home date with Michigan State followed by a trip to Purdue keeps them in Indiana. The Irish can work on their rushing attack against a loaded box and a few more play-action passes. Meanwhile, Shuler and Viliamu-Asa continue to instill a culture of manic violence into the defense. They are sure fun to watch.

One final note: I did not hear about any injuries suffered by Irish players during this game. Hopefully we can confirm that soon.