Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman offered firm support for redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr after the No. 8 Fighting Irish suffered a 41-40 loss to No. 16 Texas A&M on Saturday night. Speaking for 10 minutes postgame, Freeman highlighted the positives while acknowledging the growing pains that come with a young starter.
“You’ve got to live with the tipped ball that turned into a pick,” Freeman said. “I don’t know if it’s his fault or the O-line’s fault for letting the D-lineman get his hands on it. But I thought he played really well. There’s nothing that I can think of off the top of my head where I say you’ve got to live with that.”
Carr completed 20 of 32 passes, throwing for one touchdown while being picked off once.
With the win, Texas A&M improved to 3-0 and earned its first road victory over a ranked opponent since Nov. 8, 2014, when the Aggies upset then-No. 3 Auburn.
Notre Dame carried the lead for much of the night behind running back Jeremiyah Love, who collected 94 rushing yards and another 53 through the air. Still, defensive lapses ultimately doomed the Irish.
With only 13 seconds left, Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed connected with Nate Boerkircher for an 11-yard touchdown, and the extra point delivered the final blow.
Freeman, asked whether Notre Dame’s goals remain intact after back-to-back defeats, emphasized improvement over speculation.
“Sure. We’ve got to focus on getting better for the next week. The future is uncertain. I don’t know what’s the playoff number. It doesn’t matter. We need to focus on getting better and getting ready for next week.”
Defensive struggles were again a focal point.
“Probably multiple, different things,” Freeman said when pressed about breakdowns in coverage. “Early in the game, we were playing a little bit more zone and not getting enough pressure on the guy, and some guys were running free, made some big plays.”
The Irish will attempt to regroup at home on Sept. 20 against Purdue at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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