Notre Dame vs. North Carolina: A Look at the Fighting Irish’s Dominance in the Series

In a few weeks we'll hear about Notre Dame's longtime rivalry with Navy, and how the Fighting Irish have dominated the Midshipmen all time.

This week though, Notre Dame plays another program that it has played more than all but 15 other programs all time, and has a better winning percentage against it than even Navy.

Yes, I'm talking about Notre Dame and North Carolina, two teams that have met 23 times historically, with the Fighting Irish walking out victorious 21 times.

And if you want to get really official, one of North Carolina's two victories against Notre Dame all-time was vacted, so realistically you can say Notre Dame is 21-1 all-time against the Tar Heels.

Early Days of Notre Dame's Dominance of North Carolina

Notre Dame and North Carolina first met in November of 1949 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, in a 42-6 victory for the eventual championship winning Fighting Irish.

The two met 12 times total from 1949 to 1960, with Notre Dame winning all but the 1960 game, a 12-7 Tar Heels victory in Chapel Hill.

It would be 48 years until North Carolina would beat Notre Dame again, doing so in 2008, a 29-24 Tar Heels win.

The history books aren't exactly lined with all-time meetings between these foes, but one game tends to stick out more than any others from it...

Joe Montana's Legend is Born Versus North Carolina

Long before he became "Joe Cool" and helped turn the San Francisco 49ers into an NFL dynasty, Joe Montana was struggling to get on the field at Notre Dame.

In 1975, the backup quarterback was inserted late in the game, and led Notre Dame to two fourth quarter touchdowns, to give the Irish a 21-14, come-from-behind victory.

That game served as a starting point to Montana's legendary career on the national level, as he would do plenty more of that during his time in South Bend, helping lead the Fighting Irish to the 1977 national championship.

Kyren Williams' Amazing Run

You can't mention Notre Dame and North Carolina without bringing up the best run Kyren Williams had in blue and gold.

The year was 2021, Notre Dame was 6-1, and hosting 4-3 North Carolina.

Despite the contrast in records, Notre Dame led by just four early in the fourth quarter of that meeting, when Kyren Williams busted out a run for the ages.

Williams finished that night with 199 rushing yards and another 15 receiving as Notre Dame prevailed, 44-34.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts

With some all-time greats like Julius Peppers and Lawrence Taylor having played for North Carolina, it always amazes me how bad this football program is all-time.

It hasn't won an ACC championship since Jimmy Carter was president, and has two top 10 AP finishes since 1950.

Jordon Hudson and Bill Belichick in 2026 — University of North Carolina Head Coach Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson get off the bus as Clemson does their Tiger Walk before the game at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Saturday, September 19, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Here's to hoping more of the same on Saturday, and Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson having a miserable afternoon at Kenan Stadium.

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