For the last two seasons at Notre Dame, a quarterback battle has been nonexistent. The Fighting Irish brought in two veteran transfer starters in Sam Hartman (2023) and Riley Leonard (2024) to fill their vacancy at the position.
However, less than two weeks before No. 6 Notre Dame opens the season on the road against No. 10 Miami on Aug. 30, the program has yet to name a starting quarterback as CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey continue to compete for the job.
Even after Notre Dame’s annual jersey scrimmage over the weekend, the coaching staff still hasn’t reached a decision. The CBS Sports College Football Insiders shared the latest intel surrounding the Notre Dame quarterback battle, citing inconsistent play from both quarterbacks as one reason why a starter hasn’t been announced.
“I think this battle is still very close,” CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer said on Monday. “I would say [after] talking to someone over there that both quarterbacks were a little inconsistent on Sunday and I think that’s been part of the issue throughout fall camp. There has been some inconsistency in play from both of them. CJ Carr has struggled with turnovers at times. … I think I lean slightly toward Kenny Minchey at this point.”
CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz added that he is not sure “when a final decision will come.”
College football QB battles: Surprising development at Notre Dame leads camp intel on top competitions
Matt Zenitz
Carr, the former No. 45 overall recruit and the sixth-ranked quarterback in the 2024 recruiting cycle in the 247Sports rankings, was viewed as the favorite to win the job heading into camp. Regardless of who the starter is during Week 1, he will have little experience in a real game situation at the college level and will be walking into a major test on the road against the Hurricanes. Carr hasn’t taken a snap in college, while Minchey has attempted just three passes during his first two college seasons.
“This is a legitimate quarterback battle,” Hummer said. “There is legitimate indecision there because it has become too close to call in a lot of ways for the staff. The staff was expecting CJ Carr to take this job for most of the offseason. The fact that they’re in that position where the guy that you expected to take the job hasn’t really taken it and a guy has really pushed him. It does create some semblance of indecision.”
Notre Dame enters the 2025 campaign with high expectations after reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship in the first year of the 12-team playoff format. The Fighting Irish, +1500 to win the national title at FanDuel, return multiple starters on both sides of the ball, including star running back Jeremiyah Love, who has the 20th-best odds (+4000) to win the Heisman Trophy.
Miami will also enter the 2025 season with a new starter under center, after Cameron Ward departed the program after a terrific one-and-done season with the Hurricanes. The difference between Notre Dame and Miami is that the Hurricanes will have experience under center in Georgia transfer Carson Beck, who has a 24-3 career record as a starter. Miami went 10-3 last season and has the 12th-best odds (+4000) to win the 2026 national title.