SOUTH BEND, Ind. — C.J. Carr’s learning curve has been more like a drive down the expressway: bumpy, full of obstacles and, of course, fast.
After losing his first two games as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback — at then-No. 10 Miami and at home against then-No. 16 Texas A&M by a combined four points — Carr has settled in. The Irish (5-2) have won five straight to climb back to No. 12 in the rankings, putting them back in the College Football Playoff conversation heading into Saturday’s game at Boston College (1-7).
“First-time quarterback, in terms of leading this offense, in terms of what he has on his plate, he’s done a tremendous job,” coach Marcus Freeman said in assessing Carr’s quick progression. “And there’s more, that’s the exciting part. There’s more to his game. I’m looking forward to seeing how he continues to elevate in these next couple games.”
Even in the losses, Carr’s play wasn’t the issue.
He was 19 of 30 for 221 yards with two touchdowns and one interception at Miami, rallying the Irish from a two-touchdown deficit to tie the score at 24 on his 7-yard TD run with 3:21 to play. The Hurricanes answered with the decisive field goal with 1:04 left.
Against Texas A&M, Carr was 20 of 32 for 293 yards with one touchdown and one interception, taking the Irish on a 75-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:53 remaining. The Aggies won on a fourth-down TD pass with 13 seconds to go.
Over the last five games, Carr has been even more impressive. He’s completing 67.2% of his throws, compared with 62.9% in the first two games, while throwing 11 TD passes and two interceptions.
Among FBS freshmen, Carr ranks first in passing efficiency (166.78) and yards per completion (14.53), second in touchdown passes (14) and fourth in passing yards (1,758). Not bad for a guy who hadn’t thrown an official college pass until Week 1.
It was the 56-13 rout at Arkansas that really turned heads. Carr threw for 354 yards, rushed for two scores and tied a Notre Dame freshman record by throwing four TD passes.
He has taken advantage of a supporting cast that includes one of the nation’s top rushing duos, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, and a group of talented, experienced receivers.
Perhaps some of the success should be expected from someone with such strong bloodlines. Carr is the son of former Michigan quarterback Jason Carr and the grandson of College Football Hall of Famer Lloyd Carr, who coached the Wolverines to the 1997 national championship.
As the most visible player at one of America’s most prestigious college football powers, Carr still enjoys spending time in his hometown of Saline, Mich.
“I went to my brother’s high school football games,” Carr said of how he spent the bye weekend. “That was a cool experience, to be able to watch and not have the pressure of being out there playing. But I’m excited to be back. The guys are all excited to be back. We’re ready to go.”
Coaches are seeing Carr increasingly assert himself.
Freeman acknowledged before the Texas A&M game that he would give Carr more freedom on the field, even though offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock later joked that Carr wouldn’t get “all the keys to the Ferrari, but we’ll let him take it out for a spin every once in a while.”
The results have been impressive. He has topped the 300-yard mark twice, and even with a less-than-stellar performance against rival USC before the bye, he still led the Irish to a 34-24 victory.
While Carr knows the coaching staff has given him more leeway to operate, he naturally wants to do even more in the second half of the season. The key will be finding more consistency.
“One huge thing I’ve learned and I’m continuing to try and just ingrain in my mind is that we’re going to be on the attack,” Carr said. “We’re going to try and put as many points on the board as we can.
“But if we’re attacking and moving forward and firing on all cylinders, we’re hard to stop. I think when we’re firing on all cylinders, we’re the best offense in the country.”
