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Notre Dame Football

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

November 26, 2020
90,500

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

90,485 Views | 820 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by sscott43
pshakes831
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Serious problems now
ejsjr
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I'm sorry but that targeting penalty is just BS. That kid didn't intend to hit the guy with his helmet. How do you avoid doing something which you didn't intend to do? Penalize them but kicking the kid out is just garbage.
Rwolf101
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tayirish14 said:

Well how's our safety depth chart looking? Of course it had to happen against the best offense we've played against all year. Next man in

Yeah...about that...
irishtank6900
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3rd and 18 missed tackle and bad leverage

3rd and 20 Helmet to helmet and lose our best player

Wiggs4Irish
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Time for the subs to man up.
inhocqb
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It's ridiculous!
mattfreeman
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Staff
Shaun Crawford back on the field for Notre Dame.
usma95
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Those two conversions could end up costing us the game. If they score here we are in a lot of trouble with them getting the second half kick.
GulfCoastIrish
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It's time for some people to step up, and everyone to dial it up a notch.

ejsjr
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Worst rule in organized sports.
Rwolf101
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ejsjr said:

I'm sorry but that targeting penalty is just BS. That kid didn't intend to hit the guy with his helmet. How do you avoid doing something which you didn't intend to do? Penalize them but kicking the kid out is just garbage.

I hate the rule but in this case I agree that a hit like that cannot be made. It was reckless.
ndmojo
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offense needs to remove their head from their ass and put points up!
covingtonjs
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WR dropped that ball. Should be +15 and a UNC 1st but should be from the LOS.
Wiggs4Irish
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Jeez it's the second quarter. Relax.
pbrad28
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And an offense that plays some series and not others. All bad news
atl irish
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GulfCoastIrish said:

It's time for some people to step up, and everyone to dial it up a notch.


I just wish hamilton could have dialed it down a notch
inhocqb
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If they score, they also get the 2nd half kickoff.

14 point swing potentially
tvanp63
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Just tackle him and it's fourth down! Have to play smarter. Don't need to give them anything.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Annnnndd it took one play to miss Kyle Hamilton.

Buckle up.
GulfCoastIrish
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Wiggs4Irish said:

Jeez it's the second quarter. Relax.


Agreed.
jmsheridan
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Up until this series I thought we would settle in and win a close one.
irishfan32489
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And there's Houston Griffith .... misses tackle
ohiondfan
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On a positive note:

- unc scoreless this quarter.
- we thought they were gonna score a lot anyways...so 14 in the first half ain't bad.
- our offense can clearly move the ball, just a couple drops.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Clarence Lewis made a nice tackle
Wiggs4Irish
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Houston Griffith no bueno
Rwolf101
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Our secondary is not good. I would not be shocked if ND loses this game. I don't say that as an alarmist but as a realist.
hockey8390
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ejsjr said:

Worst rule in organized sports.
s
Did you just agree with yourself five posts down lol
tayirish14
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Turnover or hold them to 3 here...then we need points from O.
mattfreeman
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Staff
JMAC
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Kiser?
rmirish
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inhocqb said:

If they score, they also get the 2nd half kickoff.

14 point swing potentially
My biggest reason I like to defer to 2nd half.
mattfreeman
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Staff
mattfreeman said:


Kyle Hamilton's mother.
Dillon1986
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did they get rid of the rule where Hamilton has to leave the field?
MAS
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Yes bc of covid
GulfCoastIrish
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Dillon1986 said:

did they get rid of the rule where Hamilton has to leave the field?


Yes
 
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