CJ Carr's major flaw may have doomed Notre Dame in loss to Texas A&M, per The Athletic

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dropped their Week 1 matchup to Miami in a close game, but ultimately came up short. Despite the loss, head coach Marcus Freeman remained calm and optimistic, choosing not to sound the alarm after the early setback.

“It’s the first game of the year versus a heck of an opponent. We obviously got a new quarterback starting, and we got to do things to try to help him kind of figure his way out. And defensively, we got to be better in crucial parts of the game,” Freeman said. “I think in crucial parts, they actually did play well. It’s the parts that maybe, the normal situation. We weren’t as, really, as high performing as I would like in that situation. So, we’ll take it — we’ll get back to work. Look at ways to fix it and utilize this bye week and get ready for our next opponent, [Texas] A&M.”

After the loss, it became clear that a defeat to Texas A&M could seriously damage Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes.

“Obviously Notre Dame still alive for College Football Playoff, but margin of error is thin. Only ranked team left is Texas A&M in 2 weeks (unless USC gets ranked). No guarantees for 10-2 Irish,” On3’s Brett McMurphy wrote.

The Fighting Irish would go on to lose a heartbreaker to the Aggies—and freshman quarterback CJ Carr may have unknowingly played a role in that outcome.

“Heard whispers last night CJ Carr tipped run/pass based on pre-snap stance. Sure enough, on 58 of 64 plays where Carr receives the snap, stance tells you run or pass. Feet parallel at the snap is run. Staggered stance is a drop back pass. Every stagger was pass, save one attempt,” The Athletic’s Pete Sampson wrote.

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Carr has a promising future in South Bend, but he’ll need to quickly address the issue of tipping plays pre-snap. While the tells may have given Texas A&M a significant edge, Carr still led the offense well enough to keep Notre Dame in the game. However, with the Irish now sitting at 0–2, their playoff chances are hanging by a thread.

Tipping plays in football can be just as detrimental as tipping pitches in baseball—and it must be corrected immediately. With no more room for error, Notre Dame has to fix it now or face a lost season.