Series History: Notre Dame vs. North Carolina
Notre Dame has a surprisingly deep history with North Carolina, who the Irish square off against this weekend.
To kick off our coverage of this weekend's contest, let's first look at the series history between the two schools.
SERIES HISTORY
This will mark the 21st matchup in the series, with the first game coming back in 1949. It will be the third time the two programs have faced each other since Brian Kelly arrived at Notre Dame.
Interestingly, this will be the first time North Carolina head coach Mack Brown has faced Notre Dame in his now 31 years as a head coach.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 18-2.
2017 - Notre Dame 33, North Carolina 10 (Away)
2014 - Notre Dame 50, North Carolina 43 (Home)
2008 - North Carolina 29, Notre Dame 24 (Away)
2006 - Notre Dame 45, North Carolina 26 (Home)
1975 - Notre Dame 21, North Carolina 14 (Away)
1971 - Notre Dame 16, North Carolina 0 (Home)
1966 - Notre Dame 32, North Carolina 0 (Home)
1965 - Notre Dame 17, North Carolina 0 (Home)
1962 - Notre Dame 21, North Carolina 7 (Home)
1960 - North Carolina 12, Notre Dame 7 (Away)
1959 - Notre Dame 28, North Carolina 8 (Home)
1958 - Notre Dame 34, North Carolina 24 (Home)
1956 - Notre Dame 21, North Carolina 14 (Home)
1955 - Notre Dame 27, North Carolina 7 (Away)
1954 - Notre Dame 42, North Carolina 13 (Home)
1953 - Notre Dame 34, North Carolina 14 (Away)
1952 - Notre Dame 34, North Carolina 14 (Home)
1951 - Notre Dame 12, North Carolina 7 (Away)
1950 - Notre Dame 14, North Carolina 7 (Home)
1949 - Notre Dame 42, North Carolina 6 (New York)
NOTABLE GAMES
2017 — The last time these two teams played also happened to be the first career start for Irish quarterback Ian Book. Filling in for an injured Brandon Wimbush, Book completed 17-31 passes for 146 yards and a score. Notre Dame outgained UNC by a 487-265 margin, including 341-86 on the ground. Running backs Josh Adams (118 yards) and Deon McIntosh (118) both went over 100 yards.
Interestingly, North Carolina's starting quarterback that day was Chazz Surratt, who now starts at linebacker for the Tar Heels and leads the defense with 68 tackles.
2014 — The first meeting between the two programs under Kelly was a shootout, as the two offenses combined for 1,032 yards and almost a hundred points. Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson passed for 300 yards and three scores, with Will Fuller (7 catches, 133 yards, 2 TD) being his main target.
Irish running back Tarean Folston rushed for 98 yards, caught five passes for 71 yards and scored three times in the Irish victory. UNC quarterback Marquise Williams passed for 303 yards and rushed for 132 more.
2007 — Both of Notre Dame's losses to the Tar Heels were road games, and the last time the Irish lost this matchup was in 2007. Notre Dame outplayed UNC in every aspect but one, turnovers. Notre Dame outgained UNC 472-322 but turned it over six times.
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen passed for 383 yards and wide receiver Golden Tate hauled in five passes for 121 yards. Wideout Michael Floyd caught six passes for 93 yards.
1950 — Notre Dame and North Carolina will enter this weekend's contest with both teams ranked. The last time that happened was in this 1950 matchup, which kicked off the season. North Carolina began ranked 20th and the Irish started 1st. The Tar Heels quickly dropped out and finished 3-5-2, while Notre Dame finished 4-4-1.
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