Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DEC. 5, 2020 19 the second half. Quarterback Sam Howell was sacked six times, and the Tar Heels converted only 2 of 11 third downs — 0 of 6 in the second half. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said the initial flurry was some- what akin to acclimating to the speed of Navy's triple-option offense before the defense found its legs and ad- justed with much more aggressive blitzing from the linebackers. "Once we were able to acclimate a little bit, we played very well defen- sively," Kelly said. "And the physi- cality started to show itself." After a 17-17 halftime score, Notre Dame used 97- and 89-yard touch- down drives in the second half to augment the superb play of the de- fense. Once again, the amazing ma- neuverability and improvisation of fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book propelled the offense. Book completed 23 of 33 passes for 279 yards with one score, and added 48 yards on the ground. Sophomore running back Kyren Williams carried 23 times for 124 yards and tallied two touchdowns, plus scored a third on a reception. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Javon McKinley paced the receiving corps with six catches for 135 yards, while freshman tight end Michael Mayer made four grabs for 54 yards. "Ian Book was outstanding, receiv- ers made plays, we ran the ball late when we had to run the football," Kelly summarized. "Those two long drives ate up a lot of clock." FIRST QUARTER TIED, 14-14 Top Moment: Both times after Notre Dame fell behind 7-0 and 14-7, it re- sponded with a touchdown. On the second, Book, despite getting hit on the arm shortly before his release, opened with a 43-yard deep ball completion to McKinley, ran for 33 yards on a de- signed play for him and, after a bad snap, deftly scrambled away from pres- sure back to his 23-yard line and found Williams for a four-yard touchdown. Feature Performer: Book com- pleted all four passes for 71 yards and rushed for 38 yards. For North Carolina, Howell was 4-of-6 passing for 85 yards with a score, and also tal- lied on a one-yard run for a 14-7 lead. Stats: North Carolina had 147 yards of total offense while scor- ing on both possessions, and Notre Dame had 146 yards. Each team had only one third-down play. Items: North Carolina's defense forced a three-and-out on the open- ing series, highlighted by linebacker Chazz Surratt's 13-yard sack of Book … The Tar Heels then took possession at midfield. A 26-yard run by running back Michael Carter and a 13-yard scramble by Howell took the Tar Heels down to 4-yard line. On third-and- goal from the 6-yard line, wideout Emery Simmons made a sensational leaping grab over junior cornerback TaRiq Bracy on an underthrown fade by Howell into the end zone with 9:56 left … Notre Dame answered with a 75-yard march in nine plays, with Williams scoring from two yards out at the 5:19 mark. Highlights of the drive were a 16-yard pass to Mayer, a 16-yard burst by freshman running back Chris Tyree, and an 18-yard run by Book after sidestepping a blitz … A 51-yard pass on second-and-15 from its 48-yard line from Howell to wide receiver Dyami Brown set up How- ell's one-yard score off the zone read for a 14-7 lead with 2:59 left. SECOND QUARTER TIED, 17-17 Top Moment: With North Carolina facing third-and-20 at its 19-yard line, a short pass to receiver Josh Downs became a first down when Irish sopho- more safety Kyle Hamilton was called for targeting and was ejected from playing with 3:02 left in the first half. The Tar Heels then also used a 23-yard pass to running back Michael Carter to set up Grayson Atkins' 42-yard field goal with 1:15 left for a 17-14 lead. Feature Performer: Sophomore Jay Bramblett and the Irish punt coverage team. Bramblett had a 53-yard punt to North Carolina's 2-yard line with the score 14-14 and then followed with a 38-yarder to the 4-yard line. Stats: Notre Dame had 34 first-half plays for 225 yards (123 passing, 102 rushing). North Carolina had 32 plays for 220 yards (165 passing, 55 rushing). Items: As time expired in the first half, senior Jonathan Doerer converted a 32-yard field goal for the Irish to knot the score at 17 … Two pass interference calls on the Tar Heels aided the cause … Williams had an 11-yard catch and a nine-yard run on that march. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME, 24-17 Top Moment: With the score still 17-17, Notre Dame took possession at its 3-yard line with 12:27 remain- ing. Later in the drive, it surprisingly lined up to go for it on fourth-and-one from its 24-yard line, likely hoping to draw the Tar Heels offside. It worked — and it set up fifth-year senior wide receiver Ben Skowronek's end-around 13-yard run at the 7:05 mark for a 24-17 lead. The Irish also converted third-and-10 from midfield with a 15- yard toss from Book to Mayer. Feature Performer: Notre Dame's defense limited North Carolina to 43 The Fighting Irish defense, which finished with six sacks, limited the Tar Heels to zero points and just 78 yards of total offense in the second half. PHOTO BY ROBERT WILLETT, THE NEWS & OBSERVER