Any doubt that the 2026 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team would not win their first home game of the year was quickly erased by Adon Shuler’s crushing hit against Rice running back Davis Lane that jarred the ball loose on the second play of the game. Boubacar Traore deftly scooped up the ball and Notre Dame was well on their way to a resounding 52-0 win over the Rice Owls to start the season 2-0.
The first defensive series of the game for Notre Dame set the tone for the day, which was that Rice did not stand a chance against a Notre Dame defense that is arguably the top unit in the nation. There wasn’t a lot more to say about Notre Dame’s defense in this game - they did what needed to be done - they shut down Rice and the Owls didn’t really stand a chance. One of the better decisions of the game for the Rice offense was not testing Leonard Moore, who is quickly becoming a high first round draft pick at the end of this year.
On the offensive side of the ball for the Irish, CJ Carr led the Irish going 16 for 20 for 253 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. It was also a decent day for Notre Dame’s backup quarterbacks who combined to go 9 for 13 with no interceptions. The running game for the Irish did not elicit much excitement, running the ball 32 times for 118 yards for an average of 3.7 yards per rush. However, with 12, yes 12 different Irish players logging a reception in this game perhaps the Notre Dame coaching staff felt focusing on the passing game was the winning formula for this game. It’s hard to argue with that logic, as Notre Dame could have probably scored even more points had they continued airing out the ball later in the game.
Notre Dame should have a tougher matchup next week against the Michigan State Spartans, but this performance against Rice certainly points towards Notre Dame looking like a heavy favorite in that matchup.
