# Football Never Sleeps: Notre Dame vs. USC | CJ Carr, Irish Defense & CFP Push

An episode of [Notre Dame football with Eric Hansen & Tyler James](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1603749412), 14 Oct 2025, 1 h 02 min.

Audio: https://mgln.ai/e/256/injector.simplecastaudio.com/d9fe9384-e0fe-4378-bc6b-e8dba55b098e/episodes/3c456ce9-e444-4a9a-94c6-b2f5d1885df9/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=d9fe9384-e0fe-4378-bc6b-e8dba55b098e&awEpisodeId=3c456ce9-e444-4a9a-94c6-b2f5d1885df9&feed=_ttSvT_E

On this week's edition of "Football Never Sleeps" on YouTube, Eric Hansen and Tyler James break down No. 13 Notre Dame heading into a Saturday night showdown with No. 20 USC. The Irish are riding a defensive surge and the emergence of redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr as one of the nation’s top playmakers. In this episode: • Key injury and personnel updates from Marcus Freeman’s Monday press conference • How the Irish and Trojans match up on both sides of the ball • Where Notre Dame stands in the College Football Playoff race • Midseason statistical deep dive — strengths and growth areas • Five players who could decide the back half of the season Plus, they answered questions live from viewers. Football Never Sleeps is presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors: https://www.academy.com/c/backpack Blue & Gold subscription deal: New subscribers can sign up for $1 for the first week of an annual subscription to BlueandGold.com: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/ Next week's "Football Never Sleeps" will be live on Monday at 7 p.m. EDT. Want to watch "Football Never Sleeps" on YouTube? Visit here: https://www.youtube.com/@HansenAndJames Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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