UNC At First Glance: Offensive Players Notre Dame Fans Need To Know
Notre Dame has been rolling in recent weeks. While the Boston College game had all the makings of a trap game, Notre Dame didn't miss a beat. This week, the Fighting Irish have to take on North Carolina, which has heated up in recent games after dropping two of three in October.
Despite the two big recent wins for Notre Dame, the defense gave up 71 points over the last two games. They now have to face a Tar Heels offense that averaged 51 points per game in its last four contests.
Here are three players to watch on the North Carolina offense:
#7 SAM HOWELL, QUARTERBACK
2020 stats: 2,631 passing yards, 23 TD, 6 INT
Howell is only a sophomore but he has the makings of becoming a star. He burst onto the scene last year with a strong freshman season. Howell has followed that up with another strong year and has been one of the bright spots for North Carolina.
Last week was a perfect example of what Howell is capable of when he is on his game. Despite being down big (45-24 in the third quarter), Howell went off and quickly led a comeback to put the Tar Heels up 59-45. Howell finished the game with 550 passing yards and seven total touchdowns.
Howell has faced Clemson and shouldn't be worried about the bright lights that surround Notre Dame. The biggest downfall will be his supporting cast. North Carolina has been turning around under head coach Mack Brown but they still have a long way to go up front and on defense.
#25 JAVONTE WILLIAMS, RUNNING BACK
2020 stats: 868 rushing yards, 15 TD; 247 receiving yards, 3 TD
Williams has been a game-changer for the Tar Heels offense in 2020. The junior has been a contributor for the last three seasons but 2020 has been the year he has really exploded.
Williams came into the season with 10 career rushing touchdowns, but it took him just five games in 2020 to match that total, and he's already blown past it. The talented running back is also averaging over seven yards per carry on the year.
What makes Williams so dangerous is his ability to do damage in both the ground game and catching the ball. He has had three games with over 50 yards receiving and another three games with at least three rushing touchdowns. Even more impressive, Williams has had at least two touchdowns in five of the eight games this season.
If North Carolina wants to pull off the upset, Williams will need to have another huge game. Unfortunately, he has to take on one of the best run defenses in the country.
#2 DYAMI BROWN, WIDE RECEIVER
2020 stats: 829 receiving yards, 8 TDs
Brown is the go-to guy for Howell. Brown is the team leader in catches, receiving yards and an offensive playmaker.
The 6-1 Brown has the ability to get behind a defense and does most of his damage with big chunk plays. Brown is currently averaging over 18 yards per reception and he has been giving ACC secondaries all kinds of issues the last few weeks.
Brown has over 100 yards receiving in three of his last four games. He has also hauled in five touchdowns over the last three games.
If Notre Dame can shutdown Brown, the entire offense will have a harder time putting up the big points it has in recent games. With the ability of the Notre Dame rush defense, North Carolina will need to find some success in the passing game. Brown has double the touchdowns of the next receiver and almost double the yards as well. The pass defense has been prone to giving up a big play and Brown could likely find himself finding a way behind the Notre Dame secondary.
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