UNC Football Preview: North Carolina at Notre Dame

Carolina takes to the road for the first time in four games to take on 11th-ranked Notre Dame.

Author:
Isaac Schade
Oct 30, 2021 8:00 AM EDT

For the first time in four games, North Carolina takes to the road where they will face off against the once-again-independent and 11^th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Tar Heels finished their home stand with a 2-1 record, beating Duke (38-7) and Miami (45-42) with a loss to Florida State (35-25) sandwiched in between. Carolina will be trying to string together back-to-back wins for just the second time this season, with the first such streak coming against Georgia State and Virginia in weeks two and three.

This game could be a historic one for Carolina quarterback Sam Howell and the Tar Heel record book. Howell has been responsible for 99 touchdowns in his career; his 100^th will give him more than any Tar Heel in history.

A story line to keep your eyes on are penalties for UNC. In the first five games, Carolina never committed more than seven penalties or were penalized more than 69 yards. Game six? 12 penalties for 110 yards. Game seven? 10 penalties for 102 yards. Curiously, both of those heavily penalized games occurred in Kenan Stadium. Mack Brown’s club needs to get back to playing more disciplined football and that can start this week against the Irish.

Here’s the breakdown of Carolina penalties in the first seven games:

VT – 5 for 44
GA St – 3 for 35
UVA – 7 for 59
GT – 7 for 69
Duke – 5 for 54
FSU – 12 for 110
Miami – 10 for 102

A curious scheduling quirk for Notre Dame: The Irish are facing a team coming off their bye week for the fifth straight game (Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, USC) and have one more such matchup two weeks from now against Virginia. What does that mean for Brian Kelly’s team? In total, six of their 12 regular season games are against teams with two weeks to prepare.

Here’s the full list:

Week off before facing Notre Dame?

FSU - NO
Toledo - NO
Purdue - NO
Wisconsin - YES
Cincinnati - YES
VT - YES
USC - YES
UNC - YES
Navy - NO
UVA - YES
GT - NO
Stanford – NO

Given the aforementioned opportunity for extra preparation on the part of the Tar Heels, be on the lookout for potential changes this week. Will there be any new offensive starters? Will there be new defensive starters? Will Carolina make any scheme adjustments on the offensive line to better protect Sam Howell? Will any of the injured Tar Heels find their way back onto the field? Will the Heels finally find a second reliable receiver?

Tune in on Saturday evening to find out.

TAR HEELS ON OFFENSE

Different week, same story.

Carolina knows what they have in Sam Howell. Carolina knows what they have in Josh Downs.

The question marks come in the form of the nine players surrounding them.

The Tar Heel offensive line, expected to be a strength for the team, has been inconsistent. On three occasions, they’ve allowed two or fewer sacks. In the other four games, however, Howell has gone down four or more times. There really is no rhyme or reason to when these games come. What has the line learned in the past two weeks?

Ty Chandler has been steady at running back, eclipsing 100 all-purpose yards in two of the past three games. Can he continue to deliver on the ground and in the receiving game?

Seemingly the biggest hurdle for the Tar Heel offense is finding a complement to Josh Downs. Khafre Brown entered the transfer portal during the off week. Beau Corrales has been injured all season. It’s time for someone else to stake their claim as the number two receiver.

TAR HEELS ON DEFENSE

The Tar Heel defense is looking to build on their performance against Miami in which they recorded a season-high three interceptions and added three sacks (tied for second-most this season).

Notre Dame’s quarterback is senior Jack Coan, who joins the Irish after four years at Wisconsin. Coan threw for 366 and four touchdowns in the season-opening overtime victory over Florida State. Since then, he’s not thrown for more than 239 yards or two touchdowns. Coan had dealt with an ankle injury and has also ceded time to freshmen Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne. In total, Coan is 120-for-189 for 1,397 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four picks.

Sophomore Kyren Williams leads the running attack for the Irish, totaling 508 yards and six touchdowns on 121 carries. He has also hauled in 25 receptions for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Buchner is the second-leading rusher with 178 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Coan, though, is not much of a running threat, thankfully for Carolina.

Notre Dame has spread things around in the receiving game. Four different receivers have at least 20 receptions, 240 or more receiving yards, and all four have three touchdowns. Leading the way is tight end Michael Mayer with 37 receptions for 414 yards and three touchdowns.

In addition to Mayer and running back Williams, the names to know of traditional receivers are Kevin Austin, Jr. and Avery Davis.

PREVIOUS GAMES

UNC

L 17-10 | @ Virginia Tech
W 59-17 | vs. Georgia State
W 59-39 | vs. Virginia
L 45-22 | @ Georgia Tech
W 38-7 | vs. Duke
L 35-25 | vs. Florida State
W 45-42 | vs. Miami

NOTRE DAME

W 41-38 | @ Florida State
W 32-29 | vs. Toledo
W 27-13 | vs. Purdue
W 41-13 | vs. (18) Wisconsin
L 24-13 | vs. (7) Cincinnati
W 32-29 | @ Virginia Tech
W 31-16 | vs. Southern California

Here’s all the nitty-gritty details you need to know about Game 8 of the 2021 UNC football season:

North Carolina (4-3, 3-3) at No. 11 Notre Dame (6-1)
Notre Dame, IN
Notre Dame Stadium
Saturday, October 30, 2021
7:30pm ET
NBC

All-time Series: Notre Dame leads 19-2
Series Streak: Notre Dame won three in a row
Last Meeting: Friday, November 27, 2020 | Chapel Hill, NC | 31-17 ND
Last Time UNC won: Saturday, October 11, 2008 | Chapel Hill, NC | 29-24 UNC
Last Meeting in Chapel Hill: Friday, November 27, 2020 | Chapel Hill, NC | 31-17 ND

NORTH CAROLINA
Record: 4-3 (4-3 ACC)
Head Coach: Mack Brown (Florida State, '74)
Overall Record: 263-135-1, 33rd year
Record at UNC: 88-59-1, 13th year

NOTRE DAME
Record: 6-1
Head Coach: Brian Kelly (Assumption, ’83)
Overall Record: 279-97-2, 31st year
Record at Notre Dame: 108-40, 12th year