SOUTH BEND ― Say this about the first three games for Notre Dame football this season – it’s been anything but dull.
Drama swirls around the most storied program in the land – a road game decided by three points, a home game decided by one and then a weather delay before 56 points from the Irish. That may roll into the Week Four matchup against an Arkansas team that Notre Dame has never played in a place it has never played in a game that kicks at 11 a.m. local time. Better be in bed early Friday, fellas.
The following are four players to watch as Notre Dame looks to get back to .500 with a road game at a Southeastern Conference school.
No. 21 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (1-2)
QB CJ Carr (13)
Why tab Carr as one to watch for the second time in four games? Have you seen the poise? Have you seen the pocket presence? Have you seen the accelerated learning curve from where he was in the opener on August 31 to where he is now three starts into what is shaping up to be a sky-is-the-limit career?
That’s why we highlight the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Carr, who looked like a redshirt freshman making his first career start the first time Notre Dame went on the road but has since looked like a savant who knows the playbook backward, forward and upside down.
Carr has completed 49 of 74 passes for 737 yards and five touchdowns against only two interceptions – both of those in the opener. He’s looked a little more gunslinger comfortable with each passing week and will have to be at his best in a game the Irish have to get. With a defense that remains suspect at best, the offense may have to carry the Notre Dame water in this one. With Carr at the controls, that’s fine.
LB Jaiden Ausberry (4)
If there weren’t so many questions swirling around the defense ― from the interior line and why so little pressure on the quarterback to the secondary where uncertainty still festers to coordinator Chris Ash ― one that hasn’t been asked all that much might be atop everyone’s mind.
What has happened to Jaiden Ausberry? Better yet, why hasn’t Jaiden Ausberry been more of a presence?
Ausberry seemed headed that way after a freshman year in which he played in all 16 games with two starts. He made 58 tackles, including 35 solos. He had 6.5 tackles for loss, a half a sack, two fumble recoveries, a pass breakup and one pass defended. He played linebacker. He played special teams. He played nickel.
He’s made as many as five tackles twice ― against Miami and against Purdue ― but hasn’t made much of a difference within a linebacker unit that’s been too quiet. Given that Ausberry was one of four players selected Tuesday to meet the media might be a preview of what’s to come for him on Saturday. A big game would do.
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (2-2)
QB Taylen Green (10)
This is the last quarterback and the last offense that the Notre Dame defense wants to try and stop at this moment. Give them a run-heavy attack. Give them the Navy option to solve (then again, maybe not). Give them anyone but the 6-6, 235-pound redshirt senior who’s looking to go big with his right arm or his legs every snap.
Why is Green such a problem? He’s the nation’s only quarterback to run for at least 100 yards in consecutive games, which he did with 115 yards Saturday against Memphis after 151 earlier against Arkansas State. He can also throw it (1,191 passing yards through four games) and directs an offense that ranks 15th nationally for scoring (43.5) and passing (324.3) and eighth in total offense (552.0). The potential is right there waiting to erupt, with Green averaging 387.8 yards all by himself.
He’s going to throw it. He’s going to run it. He’s going to look a whole lot like Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, and we know how much of a headache he was for the Irish.
CB Julian Neal (23)
One way or another, Neal was destined this season to face Notre Dame, but at the end of the year.
A transfer from Fresno State, the 6-2, 208-pound redshirt senior planned to transfer to Stanford. He even signed with the Cardinal but never enrolled at The Farm. He jumped back into the portal and found a home in the same state where his father played high school football. Wide receiver Raylen Sharpe, an Arkansas teammate and former teammate at Fresno State, convinced him to join the Hogs. Head coach Sam Pittman pegged Neal as the top transfer addition to the program.
Neal is third on the team in tackles (22), with 1.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. He made a career-high 11 stops against Arkansas State. Neal is a freak athlete. He can squat 500 pounds and has a 38.5-inch vertical leap. He’s aggressive, sometimes overly so, and believes the next play he can make a big play.
Neal and the Razorback DBs will be tested by Carr and a group of Irish wide receivers getting more confident every week.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: What four players should we watch as Notre Dame football packs up and heads for Arkansas?
Reporting by Tom Noie, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
