Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 OCT. 30, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: NORTH CAROLINA catches apiece and are still tied for sec- ond in that category among wideouts. Sophomore tight end Kamari Morales ranks second overall on the roster in re- ceptions with 16, but those have only gone for 146 yards. He isn't much more than a big red zone target. Red zone targets don't mean a whole lot — and don't occur a whole lot in the first place — when Howell isn't stand- ing upright, though. Through Week 7, North Carolina ranked 125th nation- ally in sacks allowed per game (3.86). Only five teams had a worse mark in that regard than the Tar Heels, and Notre Dame was one of them. The Irish aren't exactly good company in this particular statistic this season. As long as No. 7 is taking snaps, though, North Carolina is always going to feel like it has a chance. "Whatever is needed from me, I'm just going to give everything I've got to this team," Howell said. "I love every- body on this team, and I love the game of football. So I'm going to give it every- thing I've got when I'm out there." MOVING FORWARD Much is always made of matchups that pit a team's strength against an- other team's strength. This game will feature the opposite: a Notre Dame weakness on a North Carolina weakness. The key to beating the Tar Heels this season has been running the ball. In North Carolina's four wins, it allowed 120.8 rushing yards per game. That's not stellar by any means, but it's a lot better than the 208.7 rushing yards per game it has given up in its three losses. How much will Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees try to exploit North Carolina's lackluster rushing de- fense? As much as his own offense will allow him to. Up until the Virginia Tech game, Rees' offense wasn't able to do much on the 2021 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 5 at Florida State W, 41-38 (OT) Sept. 11 Toledo W, 32-29 Sept. 18 Purdue W, 27-13 Sept. 25 vs. Wisconsin* W, 41-13 Oct. 2 Cincinnati L, 24-13 Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech W, 32-29 Oct. 23 USC W, 31-16 Oct. 30 North Carolina (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 Navy (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Virginia TBA Nov. 20 Georgia Tech (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at Stanford TBA * at Soldier Field in Chicago 2021 NORTH CAROLINA Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 3 at Virginia Tech L, 17-10 Sept. 11 Georgia State W, 59-17 Sept. 18 Virginia W, 59-39 Sept. 25 at Georgia Tech L, 45-22 Oct. 2 Duke W, 38-7 Oct. 9 Florida State L, 35-25 Oct. 16 Miami W, 45-42 Oct. 30 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 Wake Forest TBA Nov. 11 at Pittsburgh (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 Wofford TBA Nov. 26 at North Carolina State TBA Sophomore defensive back Ja'Quirious Conley has done it all for the Tar Heels, leading the squad with 38 total tackles while also tying for the team high with two interceptions. PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS "We're seeing so much parity in college football. It's like a roller coaster when you hop on it and you feel like you're in good shape. Then you go back down and come back." NORTH CAROLINA HEAD COACH MACK BROWN