Notre Dame Business Trip Complete
Without Brandon Wimbush, the Irish did not miss a beat Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as they rolled over the Tar Heels 33-10. Ian Book started in place of Wimbush and completed 17 of 31 passes for 146 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and also ran for 45 yards. Deon McIntosh rushed for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns while Alize Mack was the leading receiver for the Irish with 6 catches for 38 yards.
For the Tar Heels, Chaz Surratt was 19 of 42 for 179 yards and a touchdown and an interception. He was also the leading rusher with 32 yards. Anthony Ratliff led the team with five receptions for 55 yards and a score.
The 21st-ranked Irish moved to 5-1 with the win going into their bye week. The Tar Heels meanwhile, fell to 1-5 going into a home game next week versus Virginia.
The Irish gained 487 yards on the game while they held the Tar Heels to just 265 total yards.
On the Tar Heels next drive, they were unable to get a first down, killing the momentum once again. The Irish took over after the punt and got a return of 24 yards by Chris Finke, giving them great field position at the Tar Heel 45. After a keeper by Book, McIntosh punched it in from 35 yards out to give the Irish a 26-7 lead with 6:41 in the third.
The Tar Heel drive started at their own 25 but they were unable to pick up a first down as Daelin Hayes sacked Surratt on third down. The Irish took over after the punt at their own 37-yard line. An offensive pass interference penalty set the Irish back and they didn’t recover as they were forced to punt. The Tar Heels took over at their own 27.
A third down run by Michael Carter got the Tar Heels their first first down of the half and then a run by Jordan Brown got them over midfield. A few good throws by Surratt got him into a rhythm for the first time seemingly all game. The next few plays, however the Irish defense got through the line forcing a few incompletions. A pass interference penalty bailed out the Tar Heels offense as they got into the red zone.
The Tar Heels were threatening as the quarter ran out. A few good defensive plays by the Irish forced the Tar Heels into a field goal that cut the Irish lead to 26-10 just 49 seconds into the final frame. The Irish began their next drive at the 25 and got it started with McIntosh on the ground. McIntosh was heavily featured on the drive as the rain started to pick up.
A couple of runs by Tony Jones Jr. got the Irish inside the Tar Heel 30 and Brian Kelly chose to go for it. McIntosh picked up the first down as the Irish drive kept moving. McIntosh finished off the drive with a beautiful 24-yard touchdown to up the Irish lead to 33-10 with 9:05 to play in the game.
The Tar Heels began their drive at their own 14. After a few short yardage plays, Surratt completed back to back passes to Roscoe Johnson to get the Heels up to midfield. A completion on fourth down seemingly got the Heels moving but Drue Tranquil ripped the ball free giving the Irish the football at their own 38-yard line.
A big run by McIntosh on the first play of the drive got the Irish onto the Tar Heel side of the field. A few runs by C.J. Holmes got the Irish moving deeper into Tar Heel territory. The Irish moved into the red zone after another run by Holmes. The Irish continued to run clock to close out the win.
With the safety in the second quarter, it was the first for the Irish since September 14th, 2002 against Michigan.
The Heels started the half with the ball at their own 25-yard line. A completion to Jordan Cunningham was all the Heels got before an incredible interception by Julian Okwara after he deflected Surratt‘s pass and the Irish took over at the North Carolina 21. Just three plays into the drive the Irish picked up a big first down inside the Tar Heel five-yard line.
After a few penalties, the Irish were unable to score and had to settle for a field goal by Yoon from 29 yards out, giving them a 19-7 advantage with 11:15 to play in the third quarter. The Heels started their next drive at their own 25-yard line and a couple completions by Surratt got the Heels into third and manageable. Nyles Morgan made a nice tackle on third down and the Irish forced another punt.
The Irish took over at their own 33 after a short punt return by Finke. After a penalty, Book completed a nice pass on the run to Durham Smythe that got the Irish down inside the Tar Heel 35-yard line. Another penalty on the Tar Heels got the Irish into the red zone. However, Book was intercepted on the next play by Myles Dorn, his second interception of the game.
The Irish held the advantage in time of possession and held the ball for over 36 minutes.
The Irish started their opening drive at their own 19 with Book in the shotgun. Josh Adams picked up the first first down of the drive on a 10 yard run around the right side. A botched snap put the Irish into third and long which they failed to pick up. The Irish punted, giving the ball to the Tar Heels at their own 24 yard line.
The Irish defense held strong, forcing the Tar Heels into a punt. Finke fair caught the punt at the Irish 17. The Irish were unable to get much on their next drive as the offense line was struggling to get into a rhythm. An 18-yard punt return by M.J. Stewart gave the Tar Heels good field position at their own 38-yard line with 9:16 to go in the quarter.
Another three and out by the Tar Heels gave the Irish the football back at their own 10 after a 55 yard punt by Tom Sheldon. Book got into a rhythm after back to back completions to Equanimeous St.Brown and Chase Claypool which got the Irish near midfield. The drive stalled around there as Book was stopped on a fourth down quarterback sneak.
Shawn Crawford sacked Surratt on the first play of the drive setting the Tar Heels back. After an incompletion, the Tar Heels were forced to punt once again. The Irish took over at their own 25 with 4:51 remaining in the quarter. Jones Jr. had his first carry of the game for a first down before a Book rush got the Irish over midfield for the first time on the afternoon.
On another fourth down, Book completed a big play to Mack that picked up a first down. An Adams run up the middle got the Irish into the red zone for the first time. The quarter ended with the Irish on the doorstep.
On the first play of the second quarter Book found an open Cam Smith in the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown, giving the Irish a 7-0 lead. A short kick gave the Tar Heels great field position at their own 43. Yet another three and out by the Heels gave the Irish possession at their own 27-yard line.
After an incompletion, Adams took the handoff up the middle and was immediately off to the races, scoring from 73 yards out to give the Irish a 14-0 lead with 12:38 to go in the half. A fumbled snap by the Tar Heels pushed them back to start the drive and they never recovered as the went three and out once again.
The Irish took over at their own 24 after the punt. A couple of Jones carries set the Irish up for a nice play action completion from Book to Mack for a first down. The drive stalled after one first down and the Irish punted. The Tar Heels took over at their own 16-yard line with 8:29 to play in the half.
A pass by Surratt to Cunningham and a run by Carter got the Tar Heels two straight first downs getting the offense into a rhythm for the first time all half. A Surratt misdirection run got the Tar Heels into the red zone. Surratt on the next play fumbled a transfer and the Irish recovered and returned it up to about midfield.
A few incompletions forced the Irish to punt and the Tar Heels took over at their own 25 after a touchback. An offside penalty helped the Heels pick up a first down on third down on a pass from Surratt to Cunningham. That was the only first down they would pick up on the drive as the Heels punted it back to the Irish.
Notre Dame took over at their own one-yard line with 4:17 left in the half. After a short run by Adams, Book aired it out, looking for Finke but it was picked off by Myles Dorn. The Heels took over at the Irish 48-yard line. On third down, Surratt ran with it and gained 16 yards, putting the Heels deep into Irish territory.
Surratt found Ratliff down the left sideline for a touchdown, cutting the Irish lead in half with 1:50 remaining in the quarter. After a taunting penalty on Ratliff, the Heels kicked off from their own 20 but it didn’t cost them as C.J. Sanders only returned the kick out to the Irish 25.
The Irish went into the hurry up offense and Book got it started by finding Mack and Claypool on back to back throws. Then, a first down scramble by Book got the Irish to midfield. A few incompletions stalled the drive and the Irish punted it back to the Heels with just 38 seconds left.
The Heels took over at their own one-yard line. The Irish them stepped up big as Carter was tackled in the end zone by Jerry Tillery and Jay Hayes giving the Irish a safety and a 16-7 lead. The Irish got the football back with just 20 second in the half and just kneeled down to close the half.
At the half, Book was 11 of 22 for 125 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Adams was the leading rusher with 108 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Mack was the leading receiver with six grabs for 38 yards. Surratt was 8 of 20 for 96 yards and a score for the Tar Heels and was also the leading rusher with eight carries for 33 yards. Ratliff was the Heels leading receiver with three receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Player of the Game: Adams. It took a while for him to get going but thanks a big 73-yard touchdown run, it broke the game open and the Irish were off and running from there.
Unsung Hero: McIntosh. Coming in to spell Adams, McIntosh dominated the second half which allowed the Irish to remain comfortable nearly the entire half.
Up Next: The Irish head into their bye week next week before taking on USC at home on October 21st at 7:30 PM.