Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 24, 2022 37 GAME PREVIEW: NORTH CAROLINA Three Things To Know About North Carolina 1. Continued Defensive Woes A coordinator switch this past offseason hasn't yet paid dividends for North Carolina's oft-porous defense. Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown hired Gene Chizik — who led Auburn to the 2010 national title — in January and tasked him with fixing a unit that finished last season ranked 105th in yards per play allowed (6.11), 98th in the Fremeau Efficiency Index and sub-100 in several major pass defense categories. Through three games, there are few tangible signs of progress. North Carolina is allowing 6.3 yards per play, which ranks 113th out of 131 Football Bowl Subdivision schools. The Tar Heels are 122nd in pass efficiency defense and 102nd in yards per pass attempt allowed (8.3). They have given up 11 touchdown passes in three games. On the ground, they're allowing 4.67 yards per carry (109th). They're 65th in sacks per game (2.0) and 86th in tackles for loss per game (4.67). The three offenses North Carolina has faced? Appalachian State, Georgia State and Football Championship Series program Florida A&M. Each scored at least 3 touchdowns. Ap- palachian State scored 40 points in the fourth quarter in a narrow 63-61 UNC win in Sept. 3. All told, North Carolina's defense has been on the field for 39 drives, excluding end-of- half kneel-downs. It has allowed touchdowns on 15 of those and field goals on two others. The Tar Heels ended a 35-28 win over Georgia State Sept. 10 on a high note, though, forcing punts on the final four Panthers possessions. 2. An Emerging Quarterback North Carolina is 3-0 despite its defensive problems because it's a threat to outscore anyone. At the controls is redshirt fresh- man quarterback Drake Maye, who won the starting job in preseason camp. He replaced three-year starter Sam Howell, who threw for 10,283 yards and 92 touchdowns in his career. The competition hasn't been top tier, but even in that context, Maye looks every bit as dynamic as Howell. He has completed 74.2 percent of his passes for 930 yards with 11 touchdowns and 1 interception while aver- aging 9.6 yards per attempt. He's a capable runner, too, with 26 carries for 146 yards (a 5.6-yard average) and 1 touchdown. Those numbers are against two Sun Belt Conference teams and an FCS program, yes. They're also compiled largely without No. 1 wide receiver Josh Downs, who missed the two FBS games due to injury. Downs ranked fifth nationally last season in catches (101) and 11th in yards (1,335). Maye was the No. 45 overall recruit in the 2021 On3 Consensus. His father, Mark, played quarterback for the Tar Heels from 1984-87 and once threw 4 touchdown passes in a game. Drake threw 5 in his first college start. His older brother, Luke, played for the UNC basketball team from 2015-19. 3. Getting Familiar This is the third straight season Notre Dame and North Carolina will meet. The Irish have not played an ACC opponent three straight years since beginning the partnership with the conference in 2014. They are not scheduled to do so through 2036, the farthest out ACC opponents are scheduled. Three meetings with North Carolina in three years only happened due to the amended COVID-19 schedule in 2020 and Notre Dame joining the ACC full time that season. The Irish played nine regular- season games against ACC opponents — five previously scheduled and four additions. A road game at North Carolina on Black Friday was one of the four added to the slate that season. The 2021 meeting in South Bend and this year's matchup in Chapel Hill were part of the original ACC rotation set when the partnership began. The Irish have won the first two in this three-year period, 31-17 in 2020 and 44-34 last season. After this season, their next scheduled meeting is 2026 at Notre Dame Stadium. — Patrick Engel The matchup will be a clash of con- trasting offenses. North Carolina's is absolutely rolling. It was ranked No. 6 nationally through three games at 547.3 yards per game. Notre Dame's, not so much. The aforementioned 302 yards per game was good (or bad?) for a na- tional ranking of No. 118. Can the Irish offense, led by a backup quarterback after the season-ending shoulder injury suffered by Tyler Bu- chner in the loss to Marshall, compete with a Tar Heels offense that appears poised to shred everything in its path? It helps that the Irish are facing such a feeble defensive unit. But that still wasn't enough for Appalachian State to notch a victory, and that was the same Mountaineers team that held the No. 6 Aggies to 14 points and 180 total yards the very next week. Notre Dame should know what to expect. Elite offense. Suspect defense. The question becomes, can the Irish take what they know and turn it into a win? This year feels far more difficult to do so than it's been in the past. ✦ 2022 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 3 at Ohio State L, 21-10 Sept. 10 Marshall L, 26-21 Sept. 24 California W, 24-17 Sept. 24 at N. Carolina (ABC/ESPN) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 8 vs. BYU* (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 Stanford (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 UNLV (Peacock) 2:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at Syracuse TBD Nov. 5 Clemson (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 vs. Navy^ (ABC/ESPN) 12 p.m. Nov. 19 Boston College (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 26 at USC TBD * at Las Vegas; ^ at Baltimore 2022 NORTH CAROLINA SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 27 Florida A&M W, 56-24 Sept. 3 at Appalachian State W, 63-61 Sept. 10 at Georgia State W, 35-28 Sept. 24 Notre Dame (ABC/ESPN) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 1 Virginia Tech TBA Oct. 8 at Miami TBA Oct. 15 at Duke TBA Oct. 29 Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 5 at Virginia TBA Nov. 12 at Wake Forest TBA Nov. 19 Georgia Tech TBA Nov. 26 at NC State TBA Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye has started his career in electric fashion with 11 touch- down passes and just 1 interception in three games. PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS