Notre Dame Will Face A Much Tougher Test This Weekend Against NC State

Notre Dame has climbed up to 10th in the latest rankings after two dominant performances to kick off the 2023 season. The 2-0 Fighting Irish have outscored their first two opponents by a 98-6 score, but things are going to get a lot tougher this weekend when they hit the road to take on NC State (1-0).

NC State has won at least eight games in five of the last six seasons, including three with nine wins. The Wolfpack will be a tough out for Notre Dame, who will need to bring their A game at NC State this weekend. In our most recent podcast we broke down what's at stake for Notre Dame this weekend and what makes the Wolfpack a challenging team.

In part one of the show we discussed what is at stake for Notre Dame this weekend. This will be a much tougher test, as NC State is a far superior team than the first two opponents the Irish whipped. We will learn a lot about Notre Dame's coordinators, as we make the case that NC State has arguably the best coordinator combination that the Fighting Irish will face this season. This game will be an especially tough test for offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, who faces off against NC State's impact DC Tony Gibson.

This is a chance for Notre Dame to make its first true statement of the season, and it's a chance to build even greater confidence, should they be able to come out on top.

We discuss aspects of the Notre Dame team that we still need to learn more about, especially the Irish wide receivers, the offensive line and the defense. We will learn learn more about the Irish secondary, which has dominated its first two opponents, neither of which are very good at throwing the football.

Part two of our breakdown takes a dive into NC State, which has gone through some changes since last season. The Wolfpack had an outstanding defense last season, and we break down all the areas where the 2022 defense ranked in the Top 20, and we dove into what makes the defense effective. NC State has NFL caliber players on all three levels of its defense, and it will be one of the more talented, and best coached defensive teams the Irish will face all season.

On offense, NC State made a chance at the top this offseason, bringing in offensive coordinator Robert Anae. Notre Dame faced Anae three times in the last four seasons (Virginia in 2019 and 2021, Syracuse in 2022), so he's a familiar face. Anae did a great job building a strong offense at Virginia and he completely revamped the Syracuse offense a season ago. Anae is reunited with quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who transferred in from Virginia this offseason.

In the final portion of the show we answered questions from Irish Breakdown listeners and subscribers. We certainly talked more about Notre Dame, but also talked Colorado vs TCU, LSU vs Florida State, and Duke vs Clemson among other college football topics.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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