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Notre Dame Football

Game Thread | No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 19 North Carolina

November 26, 2020
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No. 2 Notre Dame (8-0, 7-0) at No. 19 North Carolina (6-2, 6-2)

Kenan Memorial Stadium | 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC

Game Week Articles | Roster| Depth Chart Schedule |Staff Predictions 


Offense, Offense, Offense

Friday will likely come down to a key defensive stop by the winning team, but make no mistake, this top 25 clash will be won with offense. Notre Dame and North Carolina bring very different offenses to the table, but neither has had an issue scoring points this season. 

Notre Dame has had some issues in the red zone this year and if the Irish settle for field goals over touchdowns, it could get dicey in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will put pressure on Clark Lea’s defense all day as they have a premier quarterback in Sam Howell and a tough RPO scheme with weapons everywhere. 

The good news for the Irish is the UNC defense is poor, but they will be getting a key piece back in defensive back Storm Duck. Ian Book will need to continue to build on his last two games and he’s familiar with Chapel Hill as he made his first start there in 2017. 

In the end, the Irish can and should control the game with its run game against an average defensive front. Look for Kyren Williams and Michael Mayer to have big days on offense while safety Kyle Hamilton makes a few big plays in this one. 


Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame C Zeke Correll
He's replacing Jarrett Patterson, who was the best center in the ACC before his injury. It's unlikely that Correll will play up to that level, but Notre Dame needs for the drop off to not be significant to continue their strong play up front.

North Carolina RB Javonte Williams
An all-purpose monster who averages over 100 yards rushing per game, he's been the toughest running back to tackle in all of college football.

Notre Dame DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa
Quietly he's been a force versus the run and without Jayson Ademilola again, Notre Dame will need him to continue his stellar play to help put the UNC offense in 3rd and long.

North Carolina QB Sam Howell
He's putting up Heisman level numbers for the Tar Heels, but tends to hold on to the ball too long looking for the big play. He's been sacked 22 times in eight games and Notre Dame will need to get him on the ground as much as possible.

Notre Dame DE Ade Ogundeji
Two defensive linemen? Yes, that's how important the matchup is for Notre Dame. They need a dominant performance from the defensive line to help slow down a prolific UNC offense. Ogundeji has been the best one for the Irish all season and they'll need him to be at his best.


Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame WR Ben Skowronek:
"I actually picked up on it (Notre Dame’s offense) kind of fast, but there are so many new words from the offense I played in for four years that have different meanings in this offense and signals. You can only have so many hand signals and some of them look the same, but have completely different meanings. I think I was doing a lot of thinking in the beginning of the season and camp.

"I'm comfortable now. It's just coming to me very easy. There's so many differences between these two offenses. Learning it has been a lot of fun and spending the extra time learning it. Those signals were hard at first. Coach (Tommy) Rees was yelling at me quite a bit for confusing the signals. It's all good now."

Notre Dame DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa:
“It comes down to a game on dominance and depends who is going to be the most dominant front. For us as a defensive line, it's a challenge we like to take. It's probably going to be one of the bigger offensive lines we face, but as a defensive lineman, we definitely love the challenge up front.

"It's really going to come back to resetting the line of scrimmage, affecting the QB and affecting the throws he makes."

Notre Dame S Shaun Crawford: 
"One thing I wanted to focus on was narrowing my focus and staying on my keys. That will be huge. Reading him because he's definitely reading us. You can tell from the film and the games he's reading the safeties. He's pulling it and throwing it as soon as the safety makes the wrong step. We have to be patient. We're tied in on that and we're focused on that."

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly:
"I have a ton of respect for Mack and he's been a great mentor for me in a lot of ways. I got to know him back when I was a head coach at Grand Valley State and we coached together at the Hula Bowl back in the early 2000s. What I've always respected about him is he always had time for the guy that was coming in the ranks." 


For Your Nerves 

TEAM STATS Notre Dame North Carolina
Points Per Game 37.6 43.1
Points Allowed Per Game 16.6 30.8
Total Yards 462.3 563.4
Yards Passing 228.8 329.9
Yards Rushing 233.5 233.5
Yards Allowed 304.1 413.6
Pass Yards Allowed 219.0 261.8
Rush Yards Allowed  85.1 151.9

Game Thread | No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 19 North Carolina

90,487 Views | 820 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by sscott43
bmhend54
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I've had a deep sense of dread about this game for a week. I don't think the defense game plan against Clemson will work today. Hope Lea has something special cooked up or this is going to be a Xanax and covers over the head viewing experience. Run the football and grind it out they shouldn't be able to stop our running game. Limit their touches and let's get out of here healthy with a win.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Could be one of those games where ND does get up 38-17 entering the 4th and the final is 45-34. UNC has made a habit of scoring late when they are forced to pass.
bmhend54
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mattfreeman said:

Could be one of those games where ND does get up 38-17 entering the 4th and the final is 45-34. UNC has made a habit of scoring late when they are forced to pass.


That's precisely why I'm planning on the covers over head approach. Get up, and hold on. I'd love to see us grind out a bunch of 10 plus play drives. No FGs, have to finish with TDs. If we can keep them to 10 possessions or less I will be a happy camper. Then Leas bend don't break works because we also make them grind out possessions.
mattfreeman
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Staff
mattfreeman
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Staff
mattfreeman
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Staff
I think Dillan Gibbons could be making his first start today at RG over Josh Lugg. We'll see what happens in a few minutes as Notre Dame just arrived.
MAS
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Performance or injury?
ndsean44
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MAS said:

Performance or injury?
Apparently injury, as Lugg has been dealing with them for the past few weeks.

Nerves have arrived in full force.
mattfreeman
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Staff
mattfreeman
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Staff
ndsean44 said:

MAS said:

Performance or injury?
Apparently injury, as Lugg has been dealing with them for the past few weeks.

Nerves have arrived in full force.
Why? Gibbons has shown he can play guard. Lugg hasn't played well all year.
mattfreeman
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Staff
A few questions:

1. How many yards does Notre Dame rush for?
2. Does North Carolina top 450 total yards of offense?
3. Who wins the turnover ratio?
tcirish
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mattfreeman said:

A few questions:

1. How many yards does Notre Dame rush for? 225
2. Does North Carolina top 450 total yards of offense? No
3. Who wins the turnover ratio? ND - I think we jump out early and Howell forces a few

MAS
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mattfreeman said:

ndsean44 said:

MAS said:

Performance or injury?
Apparently injury, as Lugg has been dealing with them for the past few weeks.

Nerves have arrived in full force.
Why? Gibbons has shown he can play guard. Lugg hasn't played well all year.


Thanks. Yeah Just was wondering
ndsean44
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mattfreeman said:

ndsean44 said:

MAS said:

Performance or injury?
Apparently injury, as Lugg has been dealing with them for the past few weeks.

Nerves have arrived in full force.
Why? Gibbons has shown he can play guard. Lugg hasn't played well all year.
If it's any consolation, the nerves showed up full force for the Pitt game.

I guess I hadn't heard that Lugg was struggling all year, and the fact that he was listed as the starter has me a bit confused.

Our information is limited as is, but this year especially, it's practically non-existent.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Notre Dame OL Josh Lugg dressed and snapping as the third-team center with the QBs.
dunwoodyfan
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mattfreeman said:

A few questions:

1. How many yards does Notre Dame rush for?
2. Does North Carolina top 450 total yards of offense?
3. Who wins the turnover ratio?

1. 235
2. No, close but no
3. ND +1
mattfreeman
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Staff
Notre Dame WR Braden Lenzy is dressed for today's game.
TornisODaly
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Welp. Any idea of the timing of the Lugg/Gibbons development? How long has Gibbons been practicing at OG with the 1st team?
-------

Tornis
Sgt Hulka
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mattfreeman said:

Notre Dame WR Braden Lenzy is dressed for today's game.


Was he running with the 1's or 2's?
Sgt Hulka
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This sucks. Have to go to my in-laws for their TG today. FIL is a hater so I'm stuck listening to his stupid comments.

Doesn't help he really knows nothing about football.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Sgt Hulka said:

mattfreeman said:

Notre Dame WR Braden Lenzy is dressed for today's game.


Was he running with the 1's or 2's?
Havent started that part of warmups
mattfreeman
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Staff
2nd group of WRs in 7-on-7: Lenzy, Keys and Wilkins
Sgt Hulka
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mattfreeman said:

2nd group of WRs in 7-on-7: Lenzy, Keys and Wilkins


Good to hear. Hopefully they get him in the mix
mattfreeman
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Staff
Notre Dame working on goal line sets 11-on-11.

Josh Lugg working as the first-team RG.

Dillan Gibbons working at second-team RG. Normally he's LG. Quinn Carroll at second-team LG and John Dirksen at RT.
mattfreeman
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Staff
As of now, kickoff will be at 3:41.
ndsean44
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mattfreeman said:

Notre Dame working on goal line sets 11-on-11.

Josh Lugg working as the first-team RG.

Dillan Gibbons working at second-team RG. Normally he's LG. Quinn Carroll at second-team LG and John Dirksen at RT.
I'm so confused...
mattfreeman
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Staff
64 degrees. 5-7mph out of the N/NE.
mattfreeman
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Staff
ndsean44 said:

mattfreeman said:

Notre Dame working on goal line sets 11-on-11.

Josh Lugg working as the first-team RG.

Dillan Gibbons working at second-team RG. Normally he's LG. Quinn Carroll at second-team LG and John Dirksen at RT.
I'm so confused...
Why are you confused.
ndsean44
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mattfreeman said:

ndsean44 said:

mattfreeman said:

Notre Dame working on goal line sets 11-on-11.

Josh Lugg working as the first-team RG.

Dillan Gibbons working at second-team RG. Normally he's LG. Quinn Carroll at second-team LG and John Dirksen at RT.
I'm so confused...
Why are you confused.
Is Gibbons starting or Lugg?
Sgt Hulka
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Ok Texas, win it or lose it, but no damn OT
SWANSEA
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If Texas has a good kicker, the game will be tied.
mattfreeman
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Staff
ndsean44 said:

mattfreeman said:

ndsean44 said:

mattfreeman said:

Notre Dame working on goal line sets 11-on-11.

Josh Lugg working as the first-team RG.

Dillan Gibbons working at second-team RG. Normally he's LG. Quinn Carroll at second-team LG and John Dirksen at RT.
I'm so confused...
Why are you confused.
Is Gibbons starting or Lugg?
Not sure. Depends on how Lugg handled warmups. We'll see what they do when the game starts. ISD is not granted locker room access haha
Rwolf101
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Texas is one of the most overrated teams in the history of the top 25 polls.
SWANSEA
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Texas to try 57 yards FG.
GulfCoastIrish
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SWANSEA said:

If Texas has a good kicker, the game will be tied.


Like Pele good.

They'll move our game to the Deuce
 
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