Championship teams make plays when they need them most.
No. 3 Notre Dame made those plays on Saturday in its 37-26 win over North Carolina.
Now, North Carolina made its fair share of plays and took advantage of the Irish not being particularly crisp on the first weekend of October. But when Notre Dame needed to respond, it did.
In the third quarter, Notre Dame faced its second 4th-and-goal situation of the game.
With the Irish leading 21-20, Notre Dame initially planned to try to draw the Tar Heels offsides before kicking a field goal. But quarterback CJ Carr had other ideas.
Carr faked the snap and then acted as if he had received a new play before faking the snap again.
North Carolina took the bait and jumped offsides, which allowed Carr to scramble around the right side for a 3-yard touchdown, pushing Notre Dame's lead to 27-20.
“We didn't get them to be able to jump the first time, but then all of a sudden act like it's a new call,” explained Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. “He runs up there and gets them to jump that second time. Just a really heads-up play.
“The touchdown was even a bigger play. He's aware. I don't have to tell him, “Hey, do it again.’ He knows. He's telling me, ‘Coach, you want us to do it again, right?’ It's just the awareness that he has that's pretty special.”
That type of awareness is what separates good quarterbacks from great ones.
Notre Dame also needed its running game to show up in the second half.
With the weather playing a major factor in the third quarter, the Irish needed to control the clock and prevent North Carolina from building momentum.
The run game delivered.
Notre Dame ran 20 times for 122 yards in the third quarter and finished the second half with 30 carries for 166 yards.
Carr, who finished 21-of-29 for 234 yards and five total touchdowns, couldn't have been happier to watch his offensive line take control of the game.
“We ran the ball as a whole unit unbelievably well. especially in those conditions when you might be asked to do it a little bit more than a usual dry game,” explained Carr. “Shout out to the O-line and they deserve all the credit on the holes that were opening. The running backs were running really hard in that second half and super happy with the ground game today.”
North Carolina opened the game with a touchdown drive, but Carr and the Notre Dame offense immediately responded.
Carr found Jordan Faison for two first-half touchdowns, including a perfectly placed 28-yard strike into a tight window in the end zone.
It was another example of why NFL scouts are already paying attention to Carr.
“We started off in a three-by-one and they went corners over which we thought it would go to man,” Carr recalled. “We bring Micah over, it went to zone into cover three so kind of punched to the hitch. The guys took it away and it could have progressed high to the corner with our tight end also coming open, but felt the post safety kind of drive on the inside post and so threw it over the top to Jordan. He comes down with it. “I thought I overthrew it a little bit and he's got the speed to run under one of those.”
While Carr was making plays offensively, Notre Dame's defense delivered when it needed to as well.
Luke Talich shined in his return after missing last weekend's game at Purdue.
The Wyoming native recorded three tackles and intercepted North Carolina quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., following an interception by Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa on the previous drive.
Talich's interception was a product of preparation.
“We do a lot of prep during the week on reading the quarterback to eyes and things like that,” stated Talich. “When you're the post-safety like that, you can kind of get his cues and what he does. He just kind of stared it down and led me right to the ball.”
Talich wasn't completely healthy, either.
He played the game with a cast on his left arm, forcing him to adjust on the fly.
“It affected me a little bit,” said Talich. “Getting used to playing with like half a hand is definitely an adjustment, but I knew I was going to get that first drive out of the way and kind of get used to it. Kind of settled in there and ended up being alright.”
Notre Dame wasn't perfect Saturday, but when the game demanded a big play, the Irish consistently found one
And if the Irish can continue making plays when they need them the most, life will be just fine in South Bend.
Want the latest scoop on Notre Dame Football and Recruiting? Become an ISD Premium Subscriber and never miss the inside information. Sign Up for ISD
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Under Armour Sporting Leprechaun Motion Quarter-Zip
