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

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

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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