Man, Notre Dame didn’t just win their home opener; they absolutely *demolished* Rice, slamming them with a ridiculous 52-0 victory. This wasn’t some slow-burn, grind-it-out game, either. Nope, the fireworks kicked off on the second play when Adon Shuler forced a fumble on the Rice running back, and Boubacar Traore scooped it up, taking it 24 yards to the house! Just 14 seconds into the game, it was already 7-0. You gotta be kidding me, right? That set the tone for a straight-up beatdown at Notre Dame Stadium.
First Half Fireworks and Zero Mercy
After that insane opening, the Irish just kept pouring it on. Quarterback CJ Carr was absolutely dealing, slinging touchdown passes to Jordan Faison on back-to-back drives before the first quarter even wrapped! That pushed the score to a commanding 21-0. Then, running back Nolan James got in on the action, hammering in two 1-yard touchdowns on consecutive drives, blowing the lead out to 35-0. And Carr? He wasn’t done for the half! He delivered a beautiful 39-yard strike to Micah Gilbert in the back of the end zone, making it a staggering 42-0. Seriously, the dude was playing lights out. On the flip side, Rice’s offense was just stuck in neutral, sitting at a brutal -6 yards for most of the first half. They only managed one measly positive pass completion for 18 yards as the clock wound down. That’s just wild, man, a complete brick wall.
No Scores for You: The Second Half Statement
Notre Dame kept their foot on the gas coming out of halftime. On their very first drive of the third quarter, Carr found tight end Cooper Flanagan for a 2-yard score, boosting his touchdown total to four for the day. Carr finished an absolutely incredible 16-20 for 263 yards and those 4 touchdowns. Get this: three of his four incompletions were actually drops by his own receivers! That’s how surgical he was. As the game wound down into the fourth quarter, with the Irish deploying their second and third string players to get some reps, Rice finally showed a flicker of life, actually threatening to break the shutout. But Kahanu Kia, who now has two forced fumbles this season, stepped up huge again. He punched the ball out, and Rodney Dunham was right there to jump on it, preserving the clean 52-0 goose egg. Talk about clutch!
Look, that 52-0 final score tells you everything you need to know: it was total, utter domination. The Irish weren’t just better; they were playing a completely different game than Rice. This was exactly the kind of win you want to see early in the season, giving a ton of valuable minutes to the backups and getting those guys some real game reps. With this monster win, the Irish are now sitting pretty at 2-0 on the season. They’re looking like an absolute force, and every single opponent better be ready for what Notre Dame is bringing next. This team means business.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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