September 12, 2026 Week 2 · Regular Season Belt defended

Notre Dame defends the belt, 52–0, at home over Rice.

Home · Defending Holder

Notre DameAP No. 3 52

Away · Challenger

Rice 0

AP poll, week 2: Rice unranked at Notre Dame No. 3 · No. 1 that week: Ohio State. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Notre Dame came in 287 days into reign #332, which began with a win over Stanford, with one defense already behind it; this was its second defense. Notre Dame went on to defend it 4 more times before BYU took it on October 17, 2026, 322 days after the reign began.

For Rice this was its 8th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before.

This is the only time Notre Dame and Rice have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Notre Dame dominated Rice from start to finish, posting 21 points in the first quarter alone behind an efficient passing attack led by C. Carr. Rice's offense was plagued by turnovers throughout the game, fumbling away possession multiple times including critical mistakes by J. Brown in the second quarter that led directly to Notre Dame touchdowns. Notre Dame's defense forced four Rice turnovers while the Fighting Irish offense methodically moved the ball, posting another 21 points in the second quarter with touchdown passes to J. Faison, runs by N. James Jr., and a late-half strike to M. Gilbert. Rice's defense offered minimal resistance, as Notre Dame added another touchdown in the third quarter and a field goal, while Rice mustered only 128 total yards and failed to score a single point. The belt stayed in South Bend as Notre Dame's defense suffocated Rice's struggling offense throughout a thoroughly one-sided affair.

C. Carr to J. Faison 25-yard TD pass (Q1 10:30) - Notre Dame's first score set the tone for a dominant first quarter
J. Brown fumble at Rice 6-yard line (Q2 4:55) - turning point that led to Notre Dame's fourth touchdown and 28-0 lead
Rice's four total turnovers - crippled any offensive rhythm and prevented any legitimate scoring threat
C. Carr to M. Gilbert 39-yard TD pass (Q2 1:17) - capstone to a devastating first half with Notre Dame leading 35-0

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

By Quarter

Line score

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Notre Dame	21	21	10	0	52
Rice	0	0	0	0	0

Pulled directly from CFBD’s play-by-play record, the same source as every score in the lineage.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

Notre DameRice

Total yards478128

Rushing yards11864

Passing yards36064

First downs247

3rd down conv.7/122/12

Turnovers04

Penalties–yards2–204–37

Time of possession32:1827:42

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 14:46	Rice	+24 yd	Boubacar Traore 24 Yd Fumble Return (Spencer Porath Kick)
Q1 14:00	Rice	+11 yd	(14:00) Shotgun #11 J.Brown rush left for 11 yards gain to the Rice40 fumbled by #11 J.Brown at Rice40 forced by #28 L.Talich recovered by Rice #11 J.Brown at Rice40, End Of Play, 1ST DOWN
Q1 11:36	Rice	-4 yd	(11:42) Shotgun Rice rush middle for 4 yards loss to the Rice38 fumbled by Rice at Rice38 recovered by UND #4 J.Ausberry at Rice38, End Of Play
Q1 10:30	Notre Dame	+25 yd	(10:36) No Huddle-Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete deep left to #6 J.Faison caught at Rice00, for 25 yards to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:30, 1ST DOWN #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci)
Q1 7:11	Notre Dame	+23 yd	(07:20) No Huddle-Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete deep left to #1 J.Greathouse caught at Rice28, for 23 yards to the Rice27 (#3 K.Akui), 1ST DOWN
Q1 3:51	Notre Dame	+11 yd	(03:56) No Huddle-Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete short left to #6 J.Faison caught at Rice14, for 11 yards to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:51, 1ST DOWN #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci)
Q2 13:43	Notre Dame	+1 yd	(13:46) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 1 yard gain to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:43 PENALTY Rice Offside declined #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci)
Q2 8:48	Notre Dame	+20 yd	(08:54) Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete deep right to #3 M.Graham caught at UND40, for 20 yards to the UND40, out of bounds at UND40, 1ST DOWN
Q2 4:55	Rice	-6 yd	(05:01) Shotgun #11 J.Brown rush left for 6 yards loss to the Rice06 fumbled by #11 J.Brown at Rice06 recovered by UND #27 K.Viliamu-Asa at Rice06, End Of Play
Q2 4:26	Notre Dame	+1 yd	(04:30) No Huddle-Shotgun #2 N.James Jr. rush middle for 1 yard gain to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 04:26 #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) PENALTY #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) PENALTY Rice Personal Foul (#57 A.Clemmons) #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci) PENALTY Rice Personal Foul (#57 A.Clemmons) 15 yards from Rice00 to UND50
Q2 1:59	Rice	+37 yd	(02:13) #29 C.Durkin punt 39 yards to the UND25 #6 J.Faison return 37 yards to the Rice38 (#57 A.Clemmons; #3 K.Akui), out of bounds. #26 M.Amey III injured on the play
Q2 1:17	Notre Dame	+39 yd	(01:25) No Huddle-Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete deep right to #14 M.Gilbert caught at Rice00, for 39 yards to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:17, 1ST DOWN #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci)
Q3 12:59	Notre Dame	+56 yd	(13:11) No Huddle-Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete deep left to #8 J.Bettis Jr. caught at Rice33, for 56 yards to the Rice06 (#7 A.Brown), 1ST DOWN
Q3 11:41	Notre Dame	+2 yd	(11:44) No Huddle-Shotgun #13 C.Carr pass complete short middle to #87 C.Flanagan caught at Rice00, for 2 yards to the Rice00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:41 #35 S.Porath kick attempt good (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci)
Q3 4:21	Notre Dame	+36 yd	(04:24) #35 S.Porath field goal attempt from 36 yards GOOD (H: #39 J.Scaife, LS: #96 J.Vinci), clock 04:21
Q3 2:38	Notre Dame	+21 yd	(02:49) Shotgun #10 N.Grubbs pass complete short right to #19 L.Saldate caught at UND38, for 21 yards to the Rice47 (#2 J.Chavez), 1ST DOWN
Q4 5:54	Rice	+4 yd	(06:01) No Huddle-Shotgun #11 J.Brown rush right for 4 yards gain to the UND16 fumbled by #11 J.Brown at UND13 forced by #43 K.Kia recovered by UND #44 R.Dunham at UND16, End Of Play
Q4 11:40	Rice	+30 yd	(12:03) Shotgun #11 J.Brown pass complete deep right to #7 B.Jackson Jr. caught at Rice39, for 30 yards to the Rice39, End Of Play, 1ST DOWN
Q4 4:23	Notre Dame	+20 yd	(04:33) No Huddle-Shotgun #9 T.Jarrard pass complete short left to #11 D.Fitzgerald caught at UND41, for 20 yards to the Rice43 (#34 K.Blanton), 1ST DOWN

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Notre Dame

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	QBR
C.J. Carr	16/20	253	12.7	4	95.7
Noah Grubbs	7/11	78	7.1	0	25.1
Teddy Jarrard	2/2	29	14.5	0	--

Rice

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Jacurri Brown	8/12	64	5.3	0	0	17.8

Rushing

Notre Dame

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jonaz Walton	8	48	6.0	0	15
Nolan James Jr.	6	29	4.8	2	15
Aneyas Williams	9	29	3.2	0	7
Kedren Young	4	8	2.0	0	3
Javian Osborne	5	4	0.8	0	6

Rice

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Jacurri Brown	16	32	2.0	11
Tyvonn Byars	7	24	3.4	7
DAndre Hardeman Jr.	9	13	1.4	3
Davis Lane	1	-1	-1.0	0
Team	1	-4	-4.0	0

Receiving

Notre Dame

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jerome Bettis Jr.	2	61	30.5	0	56
Jordan Faison	4	54	13.5	2	25
Jaden Greathouse	3	48	16.0	0	23
Micah Gilbert	2	47	23.5	1	39
Logan Saldate	3	36	12.0	0	21
Elijah Burress	3	33	11.0	0	16
Matt Jeffery	2	28	14.0	0	18
Mylan Graham	2	24	12.0	0	20
Devin Fitzgerald	1	20	20.0	0	20
Kedren Young	1	8	8.0	0	8
Cooper Flanagan	1	2	2.0	1	2
Nolan James Jr.	1	-1	-1.0	0	0

Rice

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG
Barry Jackson Jr.	1	30	30.0	30
Chris Bruce	1	19	19.0	19
Braylen Walker	2	12	6.0	10
Payton Matthews	1	6	6.0	6
Jordan Clark	1	5	5.0	5
Ben Grice	2	-8	-4.0	0

Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Notre Dame

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	TD
Jaiden Ausberry	5	2	0	1	0
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa	5	2	0	1.5	0
Luke Talich	4	3	0	1	0
Jaylen Sneed	4	2	0	0	0
Bryce Young	3	2	1	2.5	0
Rodney Dunham	3	2	0	0	0
Keon Keeley	3	1	0	0	0
Elijah Hughes	3	1	0	0	0
Teddy Rezac	3	1	0	0.5	0
Ethan Long	3	1	0	0	0
Adon Shuler	2	2	0	1	0
Kahanu Kia	2	1	0	0.5	0
Mark Zackery IV	2	1	0	0	0
Drayk Bowen	2	0	0	0	0
Loghan Thomas	2	0	0	0	0
Joey O'Brien	2	0	0	0	0
Armel Mukam	1	1	0	0	0
Francis Brewu	1	1	0	0	0
Sean Sevillano Jr.	1	1	0	0	0
Dylahn McKinney	1	0	0	0	0
Christian Gray	1	0	0	0	0
Tionne Gray	1	0	0	0	0
Madden Faraimo	1	0	0	0	0
Cole Mullins	1	0	0	0	0
Boubacar Traore	0	0	0	0	1

Rice

Player	TOT	SOLO	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Cooper King	10	5	0	0	0
AJ Brown	7	3	0.5	1	0
Kyren Condoll	5	4	0	0	0
Braden Bays	5	3	2	0	0
Stone Combs	5	2	0	0	0
Koa Akui	5	2	0	1	0
Jo Chavez	4	3	0	0	0
Aquantis Clemmons	4	1	0	0	1
Chibby Nwajuaku	4	0	0	0	0
Beau Barton	3	2	0	0	1
Jamir Benjamin	3	1	0.5	1	0
Joseph Mutombo	2	2	0	0	0
Jordan Clark	2	2	0	0	0
Zach Cody	2	1	0	0	0
Austin Harnetiaux	2	0	0	0	0
Ahran Ogbor	2	0	0	0	0
Brock Reddic	2	0	0	0	0
Kaleb Blanton	1	1	0	0	0
Caden Vermaas	1	1	0	0	0
Christopher Clark-Jolivet	1	1	0	0	0
Jerrick Harper	1	1	0	0	0
Dillan Botts	1	1	0	0	0
Tariq May	1	0	0	0	0
Chris Bruce	1	0	0	0	0

Fumbles

Notre Dame

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Jaiden Ausberry	0	0	1
Boubacar Traore	0	0	1
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa	0	0	1
Rodney Dunham	0	0	1

Rice

Player	FUM	LOST
Jacurri Brown	3	2
Team	1	1
Davis Lane	1	1

Kick Returns

Notre Dame

No recorded stats in this category.

Rice

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Caden Vermaas	1	8	8.0	8	0

Kicking

Notre Dame

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Spencer Porath	1/1	100.0	36	7/7	10

Rice

No recorded stats in this category.

Punt Returns

Notre Dame

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jordan Faison	3	41	13.7	37	0
Dallas Golden	2	6	3.0	6	0

Rice

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

Notre Dame

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jasper Scaife	1	46	46.0	0	1	46

Rice

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Charlie Durkin	6	275	45.8	1	0	58

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 401859184) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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