Notre Dame Offense Comes Alive In 44-34 Victory Over North Carolina
Notre Dame (7-1) has been carried by its defense for much of the season, but on a night when the defense struggled the Irish offense got hot and led the Irish to a 44-34 victory over North Carolina (4-4).
Missed opportunities by both offenses resulted in the teams exchanging punts to begin the game.
Notre Dame got on the board first with a methodical 7-play, 41-yard drive that ended with freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner hitting veteran receiver Avery Davis for a 7-yard touchdown on a bubble screen.
That scoring drive was set up a by 47-yard punt return by star running back Kyren Williams that gave the offense the ball at the UNC 41-yard line.
North Carolina answered with a score of its own, a theme for the rest of the half. A 41-yard gain by Josh Downs on a wheel route - and a questionable no call on a pick play - got the Tar Heels deep into Notre Dame territory. Running back Ty Chandler scored from three-yards out just two play later to tie the game.
Notre Dame went on yet another long, methodical drive in response. A 13-play, 62-yard drive ended with a Jonathan Doerer 31-yard field goal to put the Irish back on top.
The Irish offense was rolling until a bad personnel change forced a timeout call. Notre Dame had been going tempo on the drive and had moved the chains with ease. Out of the timeout the Irish went with its two tight end alignment and the tempo was gone, and after two short gains and a sack Notre Dame was forced to settle for a field goal.
North Carolina answered thanks to a 3rd-and-9 conversion and a 31-yard gain from Downs on a tunnel screen that got the Tar Heels into the red zone. A holding penalty by the UNC offensive line wiped a Sam Howell touchdown run off the board, and defensive end Isaiah Foskey finished the drive off with a sack of Howell, forcing the Heels to kick a field goal.
Notre Dame took over and finally got aggressive offensively. Quarterback Jack Coan hit tight end Michael Mayer up the seam for a 30-yard gain and the drive ended with Coan hitting Kevin Austin on a back shoulder throw for a 21-yard score to put the Irish up.
The Irish defense got conservative on the ensuing drive, which began with 1:15 left on the clock. With the Irish playing off the Tar Heels ran the ball three straight times for 31 yards to get into scoring territory.
Notre Dame's pressure forced Howell to scramble and then spike the ball on the next play as North Carolina had to settle for another field goal that made it a 17-13 game in favor of the Irish heading into the break.
North Carolina struck fast as Chandler look advantage of bad run fits by the Irish linebackers to rip off a 53-yard touchdown run to give North Carolina its first lead of the game.
Notre Dame and Coan answered right back.
Coan found freshman Lorenzo Styles on a look screen off a RPO (run pass option) and the talented rookie sprinted 40 yards to get the Irish into Tar Heel territory. On the next play the Tar Heels dropped deep into coverage, triple teamed Mayer and opened up a huge running lane for Coan, who sprinted 21 yards to put Notre Dame back on top 24-20.
The Irish defense came out energized on the next series and forced a three-and-out that was aided by a UNC false start to start the drive. A third-down pressure by Jayson Ademilola forced a quick pass and three Irish defensive backs dragged down DJ Jones short of the sticks.
Styles dropped a post route that would have gone for a big play on the next series, negating what would have been a huge play. Coan went right back to his talented freshman and Styles rewarded him for a gain of 25-yards.
The Irish running backs took over from there and freshman back Logan Diggs leaped over top of the line from one-yard out to make it a 31-20 game.
Two bad plays by the Irish linebackers and a blown coverage by sophomore cornerback Ramon Henderson allowed North Carolina to answer on a 33-yard touchdown to finish off a high scoring third quarter.
After the teams traded punts the Irish offense struck big to start the fourth quarter.
Starting the drive from its own 9-yard line, Notre Dame called Kyren Williams' number. The offensive line was blown off the ball and it looked like Williams was going to be tackled for a loss, but the All-American back broke multiple tackles and took advantage of a great downfield block by Mayer to race 91 yards for the score that put Notre Dame up 38-27.
That scored energized the Irish defense, which responded with an immediate forced turnover. Howell tried to go deep but senior safety DJ Brown, who replaced injured All-American safety Kyle Hamilton, stepped in front of a seam throw for the first Notre Dame turnover of the game.
A North Carolina penalty all the play spotted the Irish the ball at the North Carolina 17-yard line. Notre Dame's offense couldn't take full advantage, as the line struggled to get any movement and the Irish had to settle for a Doerer field goal after three red zone runs by the backs netted just three yards.
That allowed North Carolina to immediately climb back into the game. More poor tackling by the Irish defense allowed Howell to move the chains twice with his legs before he sprinted 31 yards for a touchdown that once again made it a one score game at 41-34.
Poor tackling was an issue all night long for the Notre Dame defense.
Notre Dame put the game away late with a physical drive that ate 5:46 off the clock and ended with Doerer's third field goal of the night. It was also the second Notre Dame drive that stalled at the UNC 2-yard line.
The teams combined for 1,077 yards, with UNC racking up 554 yards and Notre Dame registering 523 yards.
Williams led the offense with 199 yards on 22 carries. Coan completed 16-24 passes for 213 yards and added 28 yards and a score on the ground.
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