Notre Dame Smothers Rice 52-0 Behind Fast Start and Carr’s Four Touchdowns

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame delivered a statement in its home opener Saturday, blanking Rice 52-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in a game that was effectively decided seconds after kickoff.

On the second play from scrimmage, safety Adon Shuler punched the ball loose from the Rice running back, and linebacker Boubacar Traore scooped it up and sprinted 24 yards for a touchdown — putting the Irish on the board just 14 seconds into the contest. The play aired nationally on Comcast (CMCSA)-owned NBC and its Peacock streaming platform, part of the network’s ongoing package of Notre Dame football broadcasts. Comcast shares closed at $25.20 on Friday, up 0.6% from the prior session’s close of $25.05, valuing the media and telecom giant at roughly $92.5 billion.

From there, the rout unfolded methodically. Quarterback CJ Carr connected with Jordan Faison on scoring strikes on consecutive drives to push the lead to 21-0 by the end of the first quarter. Running back Nolan James then authored a pair of his own, plowing in from a yard out on back-to-back possessions to make it 35-0.

Carr capped his first-half output with a 39-yard touchdown toss to Micah Gilbert in the back corner of the end zone, sending Notre Dame into the break up 42-0. Rice’s offense managed just one completed pass for 18 yards in the opening half; before that play, the Owls had accrued negative-6 total yards. Carr added one more score early in the third quarter, a 2-yard throw to tight end Cooper Flanagan, and finished the afternoon 16-of-20 for 263 yards and four touchdowns — with three of his four incompletions attributed to dropped passes.

The only blemish risked late came when Rice drove into scoring range against Notre Dame’s second- and third-string defense in the fourth quarter. But Kahanu Kia forced his second fumble of the season, and Rodney Dunham pounced on the loose ball to preserve the shutout.

With the victory, the Irish move to 2-0 on the young season and got extensive game reps for their depth players against an overmatched opponent.

What to watch

• Notre Dame’s matchup strength and national TV exposure on NBC and Peacock as the season progresses into conference play.
• Comcast’s next quarterly earnings report, which will detail Peacock subscriber trends and sports-driven advertising performance.
• Upcoming polls and rankings following the Irish’s 2-0 start.

Source: original release