Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 OCT. 30, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: NORTH CAROLINA BY TODD D. BURLAGE NORTH CAROLINA RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE One of the most potent and balanced offenses Notre Dame will face this season, North Carolina provides a dangerous rushing attack that neatly complements its high-powered passing game. Anchored by an offensive line that returned all five starters — which included 2021 first-team preseason All-ACC selection Joshua Ezeudu, standout senior tackle Jordan Tucker and two others who received All-ACC postseason recognition in 2020 — the Tar Heels averaged 199.0 rushing yards through its first seven games, which ranked 34th in the country. Similarly to Notre Dame in 2020, UNC's top six linemen — all upperclassmen — entered this sea- son with a combined 112 career starts. And while the yardage total is impressive, it rep- resents a 36-yard drop-off from last season when North Carolina finished 11th in the country in rush- ing with 235.8 yards per game. Tailback Ty Chandler — a graduate transfer from Tennessee — gets the bulk of the carries for the Tar Heels and has 588 rushing yards with seven touchdowns. Junior dual-threat quarterback Sam Howell is second on the team with 494 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The Tar Heels feature very little production be- hind these two front-line rushers. For Notre Dame, after it allowed 264 rushing yards against Florida State in its season opener, the Irish rush defense has become one of the strengths of this team. In fact, the five Notre Dame opponents post Florida State (heading into the USC game) aver- aged only 94.0 rushing yards per game, and three of those — Purdue, Wisconsin and Cincinnati — didn't manage 100 yards on the ground. Junior linebacker JD Bertrand easily leads the Irish in tackles (58) and remains on pace to record more than 100 stops this season. Advantage: Notre Dame NORTH CAROLINA PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE A third-year starter and one of the most produc- tive quarterbacks in ACC history, Howell returned this season as a serious Heisman Trophy candidate and as the leader of a team that could finally de- throne mighty Clemson as ACC champions. And while Clemson has struggled with two early losses this season, Howell and the Tar Heels didn't seize the opportunity during a 4-3 start. The guardian of UNC's "Air Raid" attack, How- ell has taken nearly every snap this season and thrown for 1,851 yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. His 264.43 passing yards per game ranked 21st nationally and he was also 21st in passing effi- ciency heading into games last weekend. Howell entered 2021 with 68 career touchdown passes, more than any player in ACC history through two seasons, after leading a Tar Heels offense that set school records in 2020 for total offense (537.2 yards per game) and points per game (41.7). The loss of dynamic wide receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome to the NFL has been tougher for North Carolina to absorb than expected. That said, sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs has been terrific with 837 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. The explosive 5-foot-10 big-play threat averages 119.6 receiving yards per game, which ranked seventh in the country before games last weekend. On PaPer Tailback Ty Chandler, a graduate transfer from Tennessee, leads the Tar Heels with 588 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in seven games this season. PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS