Notre Dame turns four Rice fumbles into a 52-0 home-opening rout

The Irish scored 14 seconds in, led 42-0 at halftime and held Rice to 128 yards in their most lopsided shutout under Marcus Freeman.

Notre Dame needed 14 seconds to take control against Rice. Adon Shuler forced Davis Lane Jr. to fumble on the Owls’ second snap, and Boubacar Traore returned the recovery 24 yards for a touchdown. The Irish went on to win 52–0 and improve to 2–0.

Notre Dame recovered four fumbles, outgained Rice 478–128 and held the Owls to two third-down conversions in 12 attempts. Jaiden Ausberry and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa led the Irish with five tackles apiece.

CJ Carr completed 16 of 20 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns. Jordan Faison caught two scores in the first quarter, from 25 and 11 yards, for his first career multi-touchdown game. Carr also found Micah Gilbert for a 39-yard touchdown and Cooper Flanagan for a two-yard score.

The three videos below collect the full highlights, Carr’s throw to Gilbert and both Faison touchdowns. Notre Dame led 42–0 at halftime; its second shutout under Marcus Freeman exceeded the 44–0 win over Boston College in 2022.

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