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There is no doubt that Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr is one of the best returning quarterbacks in the country. Outside of a really bizarre ranking by On3 — who also ranked Carr outside the Top 200 coming out of high school — the consensus is that Carr is one of the five best returning quarterbacks for the 2026 season. The only question is where does he rank within that group of top quarterbacks.
Sporting News dropped its rankings for the Top 25 quarterbacks in the country for 2026, and Carr was near the top. The redshirt sophomore is ranked by Bill Bender and Sporting News as the third best quarterback in the land for the upcoming season.
"Too much for a Notre Dame quarterback? Carr settled in as the Irish's starter last season and lived up to expectations through a 10-2 season. Carr had just four interceptions in the last 10 starts – and he had eight TDs and no interceptions on passes of 20 yards or more. He had a passer rating of 168.1 – which ranks third among quarterbacks on this list. That number increased to 170.2 in November last season – which has increased the hype heading into 2026 for what should be a loaded Notre Dame team." - Bill Bender, Sporting News
Carr finished his redshirt freshman season with 2,741 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while being picked off just six times. His 168.06 passer rating from last season was a school record at Notre Dame, besting the previous record of 161.4, which was most recently produced by Jimmy Clausen in 2009. Carr's 66.6% completion rate was the fourth best single season mark in school history and his 24 passing touchdowns was tied for the 10th best mark in program history.
His passing yards and yards per game average was also a lot better than how it appears. Carr finished with an average of 228.4 yards per game, a number that was skewed by his 49-yard performance against Syracuse. Notre Dame was leading 21-0 before Carr took a snap and was up 35-0 before Carr attempted his third pass. In the other 11 games last season Carr averaged 244.7 yards per game, which would have ranked 6th all-time if it held true all season.
Heading into the 2026 season, Carr is expected to be even better than he was in his first season as a starter. Carr ranks second among all returning quarterbacks in yards per attempt (9.4), and while the Irish have lost star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, the group of pass catchers Carr will be throwing to this season is much deeper and more talented.
Notre Dame faces three quarterbacks that also rank in Bender's Top 25 rankings. Miami (Fla.) quarterback Darian Mensah ranks No. 4 on the list, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings ranks No. 18 and BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier ranks No. 20.
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Sporting News dropped its rankings for the Top 25 quarterbacks in the country for 2026, and Carr was near the top. The redshirt sophomore is ranked by Bill Bender and Sporting News as the third best quarterback in the land for the upcoming season.
"Too much for a Notre Dame quarterback? Carr settled in as the Irish's starter last season and lived up to expectations through a 10-2 season. Carr had just four interceptions in the last 10 starts – and he had eight TDs and no interceptions on passes of 20 yards or more. He had a passer rating of 168.1 – which ranks third among quarterbacks on this list. That number increased to 170.2 in November last season – which has increased the hype heading into 2026 for what should be a loaded Notre Dame team." - Bill Bender, Sporting News
Carr finished his redshirt freshman season with 2,741 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while being picked off just six times. His 168.06 passer rating from last season was a school record at Notre Dame, besting the previous record of 161.4, which was most recently produced by Jimmy Clausen in 2009. Carr's 66.6% completion rate was the fourth best single season mark in school history and his 24 passing touchdowns was tied for the 10th best mark in program history.
His passing yards and yards per game average was also a lot better than how it appears. Carr finished with an average of 228.4 yards per game, a number that was skewed by his 49-yard performance against Syracuse. Notre Dame was leading 21-0 before Carr took a snap and was up 35-0 before Carr attempted his third pass. In the other 11 games last season Carr averaged 244.7 yards per game, which would have ranked 6th all-time if it held true all season.
Heading into the 2026 season, Carr is expected to be even better than he was in his first season as a starter. Carr ranks second among all returning quarterbacks in yards per attempt (9.4), and while the Irish have lost star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, the group of pass catchers Carr will be throwing to this season is much deeper and more talented.
Notre Dame faces three quarterbacks that also rank in Bender's Top 25 rankings. Miami (Fla.) quarterback Darian Mensah ranks No. 4 on the list, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings ranks No. 18 and BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier ranks No. 20.
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
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Join the Irish Breakdown community!
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