Notre Dame Shakes Off Slow Start To Win At NC State

A long weather delay made for a long day when Notre Dame played its first road game of the season on Saturday at NC State (1-1). Uncharacteristic Irish penalties conspired to keep the score tight heading into the fourth quarter as well. But in the end, the Irish (3-0) prevailed 45-24 to extend their regular season winning streak against ACC teams to 29 straight. It also ended NC State’s non-conference home winning streak at 23 games.

Play was halted for an hour and 45 minutes just :15 seconds into the second quarter when lightning struck near Carter-Finley Stadium with the Fighting Irish leading just 3-0. Hard rain had fallen throughout the morning prior to kickoff.

The game didn’t start as a slog fest but neither team was sharp offensively in the first quarter. Notre Dame had committed just five penalties for 46 yards in their first two games, but they were flagged 10 times for 82 yards in the win.

In the end, Notre Dame had Sam Hartman and North Carolina State did not. The sixth-year quarterback shook off a slow start and threw four touchdown passes to win for the first time in his third career start at NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium. He was 22 of 47 for 261 yards.

Notre Dame went three and out for the first time with Hartman at the helm on the first drive of the game. Audric Estime gained a yard on two carries then NC State sacked Hartman on 3rd and 9. NC State started their first drive at the Irish 49 after the punt, but the Notre Dame defense forced a three and out of its own.

Both teams went three and out on their second possessions as well.

The Irish had just one play for positive yards on its first eight plays and faced 3rd and 10 and a possible third straight three and out to start the game. Hartman took the shotgun snap and gained 16 yards on a designed quarterback draw for the team’s first 1st down.

The Irish went to Jadarian Price who gained 29 total yards on three straight plays and ultimately settled for a 54-yard field goal from Spencer Shrader for the first points of the game with 3:18 on the clock in the first quarter. It was the first field goal in an Irish uniform for the South Florida grad transfer after kicking 13 extra points in Notre Dame’s first two games.

NC State notched a pair of 1st downs on its next drive, but the Irish defense held again and forced a third straight punt. As the Irish offense was preparing to take the ball at its own 20-yard line, the game was halted for a weather delay due to lightning within eight miles of Carter-Finley Stadium at 12:50 pm.

Play resumed at 2:35 pm with 14:45 to play in the first half. While lightning had halted the game, thunder struck right away when Estime bolted to his right and ran 80 yards for the game’s first touchdown on the first play after the game resumed to put the Irish up 10-0.

Notre Dame’s defense should have forced another three and out on NC State’s next drive, but Jack Kiser was offside on the 4th and 4 punt attempt, giving the Wolfpack a first down. They still punted three plays later.

After the Irish went three and out for the third time on the ensuing possession, NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong tried to air it out deep. Benjamin Morrison made a leaping interception, the seventh of his career, near the sideline to give Notre Dame the ball at its own 16. Another three and out followed, but so did another three and out for NC State.

The Irish used a 45-yard pass to Tobias Merriweather to move the ball to the Wolfpack 31, but a sack on 3rd and 9 followed and Shrader hit the left upright on a 56-yard field goal try.

Aided by three penalties on the Irish defense, NC State moved 62 yards in seven plays to get their first score when Armstrong hit Bradley Rozner with a 9-yard touchdown pass. Morrison was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, Rylie Mills for illegal hands to the face and Thomas Harper for holding during the drive.

It took Hartman and the Irish just three plays and :30 seconds to find the end zone again. After firing an incomplete pass on 1st down, Hartman found a wide open Chris Tyree, who turned a short pass into a 65-yard gain. Hartman then hit Jaden Greathouse for a 13-yard score on the next play to put Notre Dame up 17-7 at the half.

Notre Dame gained 190 of its 263 first half yards on three plays: the 80-yard run by Estime, the 45-yard pass to Merriweather and the 65-yard pass to Tyree. The Irish netted 208 yards on its three scoring drives in the first half and 40 total yards on the other five possessions combined. Each team converted just 2 of 8 on 3rd down in the first half. Hartman was 9 of 16 for 151 passing yards, while Armstrong was 9 for 20 for 83 yards.

The teams traded punts on their first possessions of the second half and then NC State kicker Brayden Narveson drilled a 49-yard field game to make it a 17-10 game with 7:27 left in the third quarter.

Hartman hit Holden Staes for a 29-yard gain to start the next drive. After Estime ran for eight yards to top the 100-yard mark on the next play, Hartman connected with Staes again. The tight end raced down the right sideline for a 40-yard score to make it 24-10.

The Wolfpack was able to answer with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by a one-yard TD run by Armstrong. The key play was a 38-yard diving catch made by Keyon Lesane.

NC State got a huge break when the defense stripped Hartman of the ball on the second play of Notre Dame’s next drive, giving them the ball at the Irish 17. The Irish defense rose to the occasion, forcing 3rd and 15 and an Armstrong scramble for six yards, Narveson hooked a 34-yard field goal try wide left.

The Irish punted after getting the ball back and then Xavier Watts intercepted Armstrong to give the Irish the ball at the NC State 33. Hartman gave Davis Sherwood his first career touchdown on a 10-yard pass five plays later to put Notre Dame up 31-17.

DJ Brown collected his fourth career interception when he jumped an Armstrong pass over the middle on 1st down of NC State’s ensuing drive to give Notre Dame the ball at the Wolfpack 16. Estime found the end zone from seven yards out on the third play of the Irish possession to put the game away. Estime finished with 134 yards and two scores on just 14 carries for an average of 9.6 yards per carry.

After NC State turned the ball over on downs, Hartman threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day, connecting again with Staes, this time for 35 yards.

With a slew of Irish reserves in the game late, Armstrong his Clemson transfer Dacari Collins for a 23-yard touchdown pass to make it 45-24 with 2:03 to play.

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