Notre Dame vs NC State Series History

A look at the short series history between Notre Dame and NC State

Notre Dame takes an undefeated record and 98-6 scoring margin into Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. This is only Notre Dame’s second-ever trip to Raleigh, with the only previous road trip against the Wolfpack taking place during Hurricane Matthew back in 2016. Here’s hoping both the weather and the result are better this time around.

SERIES HISTORY

Notre Dame and North Carolina State have met three previous times, with the Wolfpack holding a 2-1 advantage over the Irish. These teams met for the first time in the Gator Bowl following the 2002 season, and then didn’t play again until the aforementioned 2016 contest. The Irish would get revenge the following season and look to even the series on Saturday.

One player on the roster who does have a wealth of experience against the Wolfpack is Irish QB Sam Hartman, who faced NC State 3 times in his career at Wake Forest. Hartman and the Demon Deacons dropped the 2020 and 2022 contests at NC State but pulled out a home victory in 2021. For his career, Hartman has passed for 923 yards and 6 TDs against the Wolfpack (and also has 1 rushing TD), but he has throw 6 interceptions and taken 13 sacks.

SERIES RESULTS

2017 – Notre Dame 35, NC State 14 (Home)
2016 – NC State 10, Notre Dame 3 (Away)
2003 - NC State 28, Notre Dame 3 (Gator Bowl following the 2002 season)

NOTABLE GAMES

2017 – Notre Dame 35, NC State 14

Fresh off a 49-14 stomping of USC, Notre Dame hosted #14 NC State, winners of 6 games in a row and boasting future first-round pick Bradley Chubb anchoring a stout defensive front. After a slow start that saw NC State take a 7-0 lead on a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown, Notre Dame’s dominant offensive line took the game over. Josh Adams continued his Heisman-level start to the season with 202 yards rushing and a TD, and QB Brandon Wimbush accounted for 3 TDs of his own. All in all, the Irish offense piled up 318 yards on the ground. The defense pitched in as well, holding NC State to just 50 yards rushing and Julian Love returned an interception for a score on the first drive of the second half to extend the lead to 28-14.

The Irish would knock off Wake Forest the following week before a 41-8 road loss at Miami derailed the season, which ended in a Capitol One Bowl victory over LSU.

2016 – NC State 10, Notre Dame 3

In arguably the most frustrating result of the unbelievably frustrating 2016 season, Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame team fell to 2-4 on the season in a 10-3 loss played as Hurricane Matthew was ravaging North Carolina. Kelly somehow believed that throwing the ball 26 times in a hurricane was a winning strategy – hard to believe when the Irish had enough trouble with even a shotgun snap. The Irish managed just 54 yards passing, 59 yards rushing, and surrendered a fourth quarter blocked punt that NC State returned for the game-winning touchdown.

The Irish went on to lose the following week 17-10 against Stanford en route to an embarrassing 4-8 finish.

2003 - NC State 28, Notre Dame 3

The Irish took on a Phillip Rivers-led NC State team in the Gator Bowl following the 2002 season, Tyrone Willingham’s first at the helm in South Bend. Both Notre Dame and NC State had been undefeated and ranked in the top-10 earlier in the season, but losses down the stretch took some of the luster off the game. Notre Dame took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but Rivers and the Wolfpack rallied with 21 unanswered points in the second quarter. Ultimately, the Irish offense had no answer and was unable to overcome 3 interceptions, 9 penalties, and an injury to Carlyle Holiday early in the game. That sloppiness was unfortunately a harbinger of things to come as the Willingham era progressed. 

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