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Notre Dame Football

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

November 26, 2020
90,513

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

90,498 Views | 820 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by sscott43
REMND
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Rees has lost his mojo for the 2nd half. needs to get it back. I have not seen a trips play or screen today.
ohiondfan
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Hope you are right Jim!

mattfreeman
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Staff
14 plays for 50 yards in the 2nd half for the UNC offense.
Cassin
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Give me 7
Boss
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Another opportunity to put this game away
Rwolf101
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mattfreeman said:

14 plays for 50 yards in the 2nd half for the UNC offense.

And Herbstreit and Fowler have gone completely flaccid.
usma95
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Can we get any semblance of a running game going here to put it away??
Cassin
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mattfreeman said:

14 plays for 50 yards in the 2nd half for the UNC offense.


Maybe Clark called Venables
dcdomer27
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D has done their job this half, let's get a nice 5 min drive and score
GulfCoastIrish
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No slant, no drag?
mattfreeman
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Staff
SHEESH.
tayirish14
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I mean, what????
SWANSEA
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Play of the day.
Boss
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What. Was. That.
pbrad28
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Do you can't run and u can't pass against one of the worst defenses... terrible
Rwolf101
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Book threw that underhand at 10% strength like I throw overhand at 100%.
Hrothgar
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straight up gangsta
ohiondfan
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Heisman moment?
UpperMI
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Gamer
ohiondfan
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Would be nice if we were up 10 not 7 lol.
Wiggs4Irish
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Offense way out of sorts with them keying the run.
ndsean44
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What'd I miss?
Firefighter8196
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Need a drive and a score to make me feel better. I'm stroking out over here watching this
usma95
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My Good Lord, please allow us to score here.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Dillon1986
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can Tommy solve this puzzle?
pbrad28
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One amazing play...
mattfreeman
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Staff
irishwake
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Wheel route to Kyren?
ndSlaw
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Need to come up with something to counter their slanting front... It's killing the ground game
dunwoodyfan
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Really stupid play that worked bout for us. I'm happy.
ejsjr
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Put Book under center and run some play action passes and even some misdirection plays. NC is reacting to the run, so leverage that against them.
Chicubfannin
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That back hand lop by Book was a bonehead play for a true freshman quarterback. It was inexcusable for a 5th year player. ND and Book are so damn lucky that was not picked.
toliver0917
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Mahomesesque!!!
jtthedomer
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Run a damn simple slant to Avery Davis to get somebody open.Geesh,NC's secondary is horrible and we can't even get a receiver open.It's either that or Book's holding the ball too long.ND's offense needs to execute .These are the money downs.
 
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