What we learned from NIU, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Illinois from college football Week 1

Here's what we learned about Northwestern, NIU, Illinois and Notre Dame after the first official weekend of college football.

NOTRE DAME:

In the second half of No. 6 Notre Dame’s 27-24 loss to No. 10 Miami in Miami Gardens, the Irish had no choice.

Off came the training wheels for quarterback CJ Carr. Off to the races he went.

Carr finished 19 of 30 with three total touchdowns – two through the air and one on the ground – in his first career start in a game Irish fans had been waiting for.

When it mattered most, he led the Irish on a game-tying touchdown drive in the game’s final minutes. The only problem was that it came too late in the game. Notre Dame spent the first two and a half quarters trying to get Carr to settle in with easy completions and a screen game to counteract the me