Here is my Notre Dame - North Carolina Preview.

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Notre Dame QB's: At the time of writing, Brandon Wimbush was considered day to day with an injury. Thankfully, everything came back clean for him and as long as he practices this week, he should be good to start the game, and was listed as the number one quarterback on the depth chart. He wasn't as accurate in the win against Miami, but he made his passes count. He also did not rush as much as he had as well against Miami. On the season he has 68 attempts for 402 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns with a 5.9 yard average. Through the air he has completed 69 passes on 132 attempts for 782 yards with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions with a 52.3 completion rate. Ian Book got some meaningful backup time last week and on the season he has completed 3 passes on 8 attempts for 51 yards. Coming into the Miami game he had not completed any passes.


Notre Dame RB's: The Irish continue to run the ball very effectively this season with an average of 301.4 yards per game. Josh Adams leads the way with 73 attempts for 658 yards with a 9 yard average and 4 touchdowns. He also has 8 catches for 69 yards with an 8.6 yard average. Dexter Williams was held out of the Miami game with injury, but is all set to go this week and has been impressive so far this season with 20 carries for 214 yards with a 10.7 yard average and 4 touchdowns. He also has 1 catch for 8 yards with 1 touchdown and an 8 yard average. Tony Jones Jr. left the Miami game with injury in the second quarter after a missed call by the refs and on the season he has 13 attempts for 71 yards and a 5.5 yard average with 2 touchdowns. Deon McIntosh has been used quite a bit to close out games for the Irish with 28 attempts for 106 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 3.8 yard average.


Notre Dame WR's and TE's: Equanimeous St. Brown continues to lead the Irish in receiving yards with 14 catches for 202 yards with 2 touchdowns and a 14.4 yard average. Alize Mack still leads all tight ends with 11 catches for 116 yards for a 10.6 yard average. Chase Claypool has established himself as the clear number two receiver with 9 receptions for 108 yards with a 12 yard average and 1 touchdown. Durham Smythe has 4 catches for 88 yards to give him a 22 yard average, while Chris Finke has 4 catches for 84 yards to have a 21 yard average. Miles Boykin had a big play touchdown last week and has 2 catches for 66 yards to give him a 33 yard average and 1 touchdown. Cameron Smith has 7 receptions for 54 yards to have a 7.7 yard average, while Nic Weishar has 3 catches for 20 yards and 1 tocuhdown and a 6.7 yard average.


Notre Dame OL: The offensive line continue to be strong in the area of run blocking as the 7th ranked rush offense averages 301.4 rushing yards per game with a 7.1 yard average. In terms of other protection, they have allowed 9 sacks, 26 tackles for loss, and 22 quarterback hurries. The offensive line continues to remain an area of strength for the Irish.

 

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Notre Dame DL: Jerry Tillery remains the leading tackler among the defensive line for the Irish this season. Tillery has 22 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a team-leading 3 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries, and 1 forced fumble. Andrew Trumbetti has 16 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 quarterback hurry while Jonathan Bonner 15 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 2 quarterback hurries. Jay Hayes also has 15 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass breakup, 2 quarterback hurries, and 1 fumble recovery. Daelin Hayes has 12 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, 1 quarterback hurry, and 2 fumble recoveries. Khalid Kareem has seen an increase in playing time with 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, and 2 quarterback hurries. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa has 6 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, while Julian Okwara has just 5 tackles but also has 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 quarterback hurries, and 1 forced fumble.


Notre Dame LB's: The linebacer unit still continues to be effective with tackling as the top four tacklers on the team are all linebackers. Nyles Morgan leads the way with 41 tackles, 1 sack, 3 quarterback hurries,and 1 forced fumble. Te'von Coney has 36 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry. Greer Martini continues to make plays with 34 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 2 forced fumbles. Drue Tranquill has 27 tackles, a team-leading 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 pass breakup, 1 quarterback hurry, and 1 fumble recovery. Beyond those four, the only other players that have really contributed are Asmar Bilan who has 10 tackles, while Jonathan Jones has 5 tackles and 1 pass breakup.


Notre Dame DB's: Julian Love is having a great season and also leads all Irish defensive backs in tackles with 21 with 1 interception return for a touchdown and a team-leading 6 pass breakups. Nick Coleman has 18 tackles and 1 quarterback hurry, while Nick Watkins has 17 tackles, 4 pass breakups, and 1 quarterback hurry. Jalen Elliott has 16 tackles this season, while Devin Studstill has 11 tackles and 1 quarterback hurry. Jordan Genmark-Heath continues to see playing time as a freshman with 9 tackles. Shaun Crawford has been making plays this season with 9 tackles,0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble.


Notre Dame Special Teams: Justin Yoon is 6 of 9 on field goals this season with a long of 46 and a percentage of 66.7%. Tyler Newsome handles the punting duties with 25 punts for a 44.6 yard average with a long of 59, 2 touchbacks, 10 fair caught, 8 inside the 20, and 11 that have gone for 50 or more yards. Justin Yoon also handles kickoffs with a 63 yard average on 30 kickoffs with 9 touchdbacks and 1 out of bounds. C.J. Sanders has returned some kickoffs with 9 returns for 212 yards and a 23.6 yard average and a long of 38 yards. Punt returns have been a struggle so far this season with Chris Finke returning 9 punts for 2 yards for a 0.2 yard average.


Notre Dame Run Offense vs. North Carolina Run Defense: North Carolina has been very ineffective against the run with a run defense ranked 113th in the nation that is allowing 221.8 rushing yards per game, a 5.0 yard average per rush, and 8 rushing touchdowns. The Tar Heels have only been good against the run in two games all season and they still allowed over 100 yards in both of those games, which were a season-opening loss and the only win of the season. In two games they allowed over 300 yards with Louisville getting 312 yards with a 7.1 yard average and Georgia Tech in the previous game had 403 yards for a 6.1 yard average and both teams had 3 rushing touchdowns. The remaining game they still allowed 186 rushing yards, also a loss. The Irish should be at full strength on the ground, and even if Tony Jones Jr. doesn't play, the Irish still have multiple players who should be able to run on a weak Tar Heels run defense.


Edge: Notre Dame


Notre Dame Pass Offense vs. North Carolina Pass Defense: Even though the status of Brandon Wimbush is up in the air for this game due to injury, they still face a Tar Heels pass defense that is ranked 90th in the nation allowing 245 yards per game with opposing teams completing 56.2 percent of the passes with 11 passing touchdowns allowed and only 3 interceptions. The pass defense is even worse when not factoring in an option offense like Georgia Tech who had 53 passing yards last week. In two of the games they allowed more than 300 yards passing, with Louisville nearly having 400 as they passed for 393 yards. Outside of the Georgia Tech game, North Carolina has allowed more than 200 yards in each game. Regardless of who starts, the Irish should be able to improve on passing the ball against a weak pass defense.


Edge: Notre Dame


North Carolina Run Offense vs. Notre Dame Run Defense: The Tar Heels average 142.4 yards per game on the ground with the bulk of it coming from running backs Jordon Brown and Michael Carter along with quarterback Chazz Surratt who combine for 622 of the teams 712 rushing yards. Those same 3 players have all 12 of the rushing touchdowns. The Tar Heels also average 4 yards per rush as well. They face a run defense that allows 144.2 yards per game and opponents to average 3.8 yards per rush, but have only allowed 1 rushing touchdown all season, which the Irish are one of only four teams to have done so all season. North Carolina will likely get in a fair amount of rushing yards, but the rushing offense is capable of being shut down as Louisville held them to 17 yards.


Edge: Notre Dame


North Carolina Pass Offense vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense: The Irish may be 85th in pass defense at 241.6 yards allowed per game with opposing teams completing 56.4 percent of the passes along with 9 touchdowns allowed, but they have intercepted 5 passes so far this season. The Tar Heels are depleted in the receiving area of the game with the leading wide receiver and tight end both out for the season, among others. Chazz Surratt is the quarterback for the Tar Heels with 81 completions on 128 attempts for a 63.3 completion rate and 988 passing yards with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His backup, Brandon Harris has appeared in 4 games this season with 24 completions on 42 attempts for a 57.1 completion rate and 276 passing yards, but 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. Surratt can run the ball with 57 attempts for 147 yards and 4 touchdowns, but just a 2.6 yard average per rush. The main targets that are not injured are Anthony Ratliff-Williams and Jordan Cunningham. Anthony Ratliff-William has 11 catches for 201 yards with a 18.3 yard average and 1 touchdown. However, more than half of production was in one game, a home loss to Duke where he had 125 yards on 5 catches with a 25 yard average and 1 touchdown, but did little in others. Jordan Cunningham has 14 receptions for 183 yards and a 13.1 yard average. Losing multiple players that can catch the ball really hurts North Carolina and puts them at a disadvantage.


Edge: Notre Dame


Intangibles: The Irish could be starting a backup quarterback in Ian Book on Saturday, however, they face a team that has had trouble stopping opposing teams on the ground and in the air. The Tar Heels have also lost 13 players to injuries that are ones that end the season for them. The Irish will want to run the ball frequently as they have all season and try to also improve on throwing the ball. Assuming Brandon Wimbush does start, it would be best to get him pulled once the Irish have a comfortable lead, which will allow him to rest. The Tar Heels do not have the depth to keep up with teams this season and the Irish defense can shut them down with how well they are playing this season. Look for a good win by the Irish as they head into a bye week.


Prediction: Notre Dame 42, North Carolina 14