Notre Dame Goes On The Road And Blasts North Carolina 45-32
There was no surprise that a high-powered offense showed up when Notre Dame visited North Carolina Saturday afternoon. Whose high powered offense showed up was a surprise, though.
The Tar Heels (3-1) came into the game as the No. 4 scoring team in the nation at better than 51 points per game, but it was the Fighting Irish (2-2) who put on the scoring display at Kenan Stadium, drubbing the Tar Heels 45-32.
The Fighting Irish were averaging just a shade over 300 yards of total offense per game and had a pedestrian 3.3 yards per carry average through three games, but they amassed 576 yards and 5.6 per carry en-route to 287 rushing yards, while second-time starting quarterback Drew Pyne posted a career high 289 yards through the air. He was 24 of 34 with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.
North Carolina’s offense was averaging 575 yards of offense, while Notre Dame’s was averaging 300, but the Irish outgained the Tar Heels 576-367 in the lopsided win going into Notre Dame’s bye week.
After Notre Dame won the coin toss and opted to defer, North Carolina wasted no time getting their high-scoring offense in gear. The Tar Heels drove all the way to the one-yard line, where they had first and goal.
The Irish defense stiffened, forcing a fourth down, but redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye threw a fade to the back left corner of the end zone that Josh Downs snatched off the back of Tariq Bracy for a four-yard touchdown strike to cap a 12-play, 76-yard drive.
Like they did on their first four possessions to open the game against Cal last week, Notre Dame went 3 and out on its first drive. Pyne had two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.
The Fighting defense rose to the challenge again on North Carolina’s second possession. Rylie Mills sacked Maye for a 10-yard loss to force 3rd and 20. Maye threw incomplete when he was chased out of the end zone. A 17-yard punt return by Brandon Joseph gave the Irish excellent field position at the UNC 43.
Notre Dame failed to capitalize, though after Blake Grupe missed a 44-yard field goal attempt to the right of the upright.
After forcing another North Carolina punt, the Irish offense finally kicked into gear. An eight-play, 83-yard touchdown started with two short runs by Logan Diggs. But after Pyne scrambled for a 1st down on third and eight, he hit Diggs with a 40-yard pass on the next play to move to the UNC 34.
Three straight runs by Chris Tyree netted 24 yards and set-up Pyne’s play-action pass to a wide open Michael Mayer for a 10-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7.
The Irish defense forced another punt and then the offense found a new gear of its own. Mayer gained seven yards on a jet sweep on first down, followed by a 29-yard run up the middle by Audric Estime and then Pyne hit Lorenzo Styles for a 30-yard touchdown pass, again using play action, to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game at 14-7.
North Carolina was flagged for roughing the passer on the play, but the Tar Heels still started their drive at their 24. They marched down field quickly to tie the score at 14-14 with just under 7:00 to play in the half, when Maye hit Downs with a three-yard TD pass. The big play of the drive was a 43-yard pass to JJ Jones to give UNC 1st and goal at the three.
Notre Dame went back on top 21-14 by marching down field for a one-yard touchdown run by Estime. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees mixed in both two running back and two tight end sets in the drive to take advantage of North Carolina’s smaller personnel. The eight-play, 75-yard drive using 4:18 on the clock and was their third straight to find the end zone.
Another three and out forced by the Irish defense led to Grupe’s 40-yard field goal with :23 seconds to play in the half to make it 24-14. Pyne went 5 of 8 for 41 yards on the drive.
Pyne finished the first half 15 of 22 for 181 yards and two touchdown passes. His passing yards were already a new career high to help Notre Dame to a 301-161 advantage in total yards in the first half. They out-gained the Tar Heels 120-62 on the ground.
Notre Dame came out of the gate in the second half with nothing but the end zone in its sights. It took just six plays and 2:42 to cover 75 yards for a touchdown pass to Diggs that made it 31-14.
Pyne used a play fake to the left to start the play, then rolled to his right and threw back to a wide-open Diggs on the left sideline for the 29-yard score.
JD Bertrand didn’t play in the first half, due to his fourth quarter penalty for targeting last week vs. Cal, but the Irish linebacker blitzed Maye like he was shot out of a cannon on UNC’s first play of the second half. He stripped the ball from Maye and Justin Ademilola recovered at the Tar Heel 15.
Bertrand was later flagged in the fourth quarter for a borderline hit around the shoulder of a Carolina receiver. He was ejected from the game and stands to sit for the first half of the BYU game in two weeks. Notre Dame can still appeal the call, per a new NCAA rule instituted this season.
The Irish offense cashed the game’s first turnover into points seven plays later on a one-yard run by Estime. The drive looked like it had ended on an incompletion on fourth and goal from the three, but interference was called on a pass intended for Tyree. Estime scored one play later to make it 38-14.
Notre Dame gambled and lost by going for it on 4th and one at the Tar Heel 25. Pyne was stuffed on a QB sneak, and North Carolina connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass to Antoine Green to make it 38-20 Irish, after a missed two-point try, with 4:08 still to play in the third. It ended a run of 24 unanswered points by the Irish.
The Irish response was a physical, ground churning drive that took 12 plays and 75 yards, all on the ground, that was capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Tyree. Estime ran five straight times at one point. He totaled 42 yards on those carries. The touchdown made it 45-20.
The Tar Heels answered on a four-yard touchdown pass from Maye to Omarion Hampton at the end of a 75-yard drive with 9:47 to play.
It looked like Estime was about to put the final nail in the coffin on the ensuing Irish drive. He churned out 71 yards on seven carries, but he fumbled just short of the end zone on the seventh carry. The Tar Heels recovered in the end zone for a touchback with 3:20 on the clock.
It was Notre Dame’s first fumble of the season. Estime sill finished with 134 yards on 17 carries. He is the first Fighting Irish running back to top 100 yards since Kyren Williams went for 199 against North Carolina last October in Notre Dame Stadium.
North Carolina scored again when Maye hit Green on a 64-yard strike on 4th and 21. Green was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for spinning the football in the end zone at the end of the play. UNC went for two, but it was no good, making it 45-32 Irish.
Maye finished his day by going 17 of 32 for 301 yards and five touchdown passes.
The Tar Heels attempted an onside kick, but Notre Dame recovered with 1:43 to go. The Irish ran out the clock to pick up their second consecutive victory.
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