It wasn’t the complete game that Notre Dame was looking for, but it pieced together a solid effort to pull away from NC State, winning 36-7 on Saturday afternoon.
“Proud of the way they prepared,” Marcus Freeman said. “It wasn’t perfect. We’ll get it cleaned up.”
Defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s unit continued to look much improved, holding the Wolfpack offense to just one touchdown and forced three turnovers.
“The defense … really played lights out for most of the game,” Freeman said.
The offense on the other hand was sluggish for most of the first half, and mostly ineffective in short yardage situations, failing to convert twice on fourth down in the redzone.
That said, halftime seemed to solve some issues on the offensive side of the ball.
“My message was stop beating Notre Dame,” Freeman said.
It wasn’t easy, but Notre Dame fought their way down the field for a 90-yard touchdown drive. A sack and false start nearly derailed the drive, but special teams coordinator Marty Biagi pulled another trick out of his bag. Tyler Buchner received the snap, keeping the ball himself and driving three yards to move the chains.
A pass interference drawn by Eli Raridon and an 11-yard burst by Jadarian Price set up the Irish in striking distance. CJ Carr capitalized on a Cover 0 look, hitting KK Smith in the endzone for a 18-yard touchdown. The catch marked Smith’s first career score.
The Irish’s following drive was finally the one that they had been searching for, marching right down the field in just five plays. Jeremiyah Love, who was held in check for the most part prior to this drive, finally found green grass and 24 yards on the ground.
Carr finished off the hyper-efficient drive with two explosive plays, finding Smith again for 31 yards and once again going over the middle into the endzone for a Will Pauling touchdown.
With the offense rolling, Notre Dame’s defense smelled blood in the water. The Irish picked off CJ Bailey on two-straight possessions. Adon Shuler made an easy pick, running it back to inside the red zone to set up a Noah Burnette field goal.
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa capitalized on another errant throw to secure the Irish’s second interception and put the game out of reach for the Wolfpack.
Notre Dame’s offense added on one more score for good measure. Love punched in his second touchdown of the day, set up by a Carr deep ball to Raridon.
The first half was less than ideal for the Irish — both by their doing and also with some help from the officials.
Notre Dame’s defense carried over its strong performance against Boise State to Saturday’s opening drive. The Irish were able to force a three and out, much to the thanks of Boubacar Traore who brought down Bailey for a sack. Donovan Hinish also did a good job forcing the quarterback out of the pocket.
Carr and the offense rolled on their opening drive as the quarterback shredded the Wolfpack secondary. The signal caller completed two big passes to Pauling for a total of 51 yards to set the Irish up in Love territory.
The running back capped off the six-play drive by pounding in a two-yard run for a touchdown. The run marked Love’s 10th score of the game.
The rest of the half was a mixed bag for Notre Dame. Offensively, the Irish continued to move the ball with Carr hitting Pauling once again, this time for 42 yards.
However, NC State forced Notre Dame into 4th and short situations in the red zone — twice. Freeman opted for the offense to go for it on both occasions, and on both occasions Carr dropped back to pass.
The Wolfpack forced the quarterback out of the pocket on possessions, with the first ending with Carr scrambling out of bounds and the second ending with Carr throwing an interception to Asaad Brown Jr.
NC State’s offense stood up for most of the first half, but did find a quick opening with the arm of Bailey. The quarterback targeted Irish freshman cornerback Dallas Golden, throwing a pass over his head and into the hands of Terrell Anderson for a 45-yard touchdown.
Overall, the defense continued to look much improved in the first 30, bringing down Bailey three times and holding Hollywood Smothers in check with just 25 yards on eight touches.
Carr did get the offense back on track on the team’s last possession of the half. The Irish used a defensive pass interference and a Carr 20-yard completion to Malachi Fields to move into field goal territory.
A couple quick passes to Eli Raridon gave Noah Burnette enough of a cushion to knock in a 48 yard field goal, and send Notre Dame into the half up 10-7.
Notre Dame will be back in action next Saturday when it welcomes USC for a primetime battle in South Bend.
