Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 SEPT. 24, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: NORTH CAROLINA lowed per game) and 115th in scoring defense (37.5 points). Graduate student linebacker Noah Taylor (2.5) and junior lineman Kaimon Rucker (2.0) have com- bined for 4.5 of the team's 6 sacks. The aforementioned linebacker Gray and junior defensive back Storm Duck each have an intercep- tion and 1 pass broken up this season. Penalties have aggravated North Carolina's de- fensive struggles. The Tar Heels entered the bye week ranked as the 12th-most penalized team in the country. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS After a tough outing against Ohio State, Notre Dame's units vastly improved versus Marshall, even in a loss. A 15-yard punt return from senior safety Bran- don Joseph, and kickoff returns of 27 yards from Styles and 32 yards from Tyree gave Notre Dame an average starting field position on its own 33- yard line. Against Ohio State, the average starting spot for the Irish was at its own 16-yard line. For the Tar Heels, senior punter Ben Kiernan ranked among the nation's best with a 51.3 yard average through game splayed Sept. 10. North Carolina doesn't settle for field goals of- ten, but sophomore kicker Noah Burnette has made all 20 of his extra point attempts and both of his field goal tries, with a long of 47 yards. Advantage: Even COACHING The talk of North Carolina being a sleeping giant as both an ACC title contender and on the national scene has been referenced about every preseason for the last 20 years, seldom with any results to match the hype. And as Brown works his Tar Heels through a fourth season, many of the Chapel Hill faithful are suggesting it's time for the former Texas national championship coach and College Hall of Fame skip- per to put up or shut up. North Carolina entered the 2021 season ranked No. 10, and then finished 6-7 with one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Heavy roster turnover tempered preseason ex- pectations some this year. Though, a 3-0 start and a home win against Notre Dame would reignite ACC title conversations. With four straight top-15 recruiting classes, Brown has the talent in place to become an ACC contender. For Notre Dame and Freeman, well, the hype and the honeymoon are long over. The rest is about survival, and maybe even bowl eligibil- ity. Popular belief after the 21-10 loss to Ohio State in the season opener was that Notre Dame would win seven straight games, and all would be forgotten. The Irish couldn't even beat a Sun Belt Confer- ence opponent in Marshall. And with Freeman talking about needs more than solutions, this game has an ornery feel. Advantage: North Carolina INTANGIBLES North Carolina averages 547.3 yards and scores 51.3 points a game, both top-10 marks in the coun- try. Impressive, indeed. But considering its defense gave up 649 total yards and 40 fourth-quarter points Sept. 3, in a 63-61 win over Appalachian State, no scoring total or lead seems safe with the Heels. For Notre Dame, these are the type of games former head coach Brian Kelly excelled in. Un- der the previous Irish skipper, the Irish won 11 straight road games against ACC opponents. It's a streak that dates back to November 2017 after a loss at No. 7 Miami, and another string that Free- man doesn't want broken on his watch after the 42-game run over unranked teams was snapped against Marshall. For North Carolina, home-field advantage has meant everything the last two seasons. The Heels finished 11-2 inside Kenan Memorial Stadium in 2020 and 2021, and 3-9 in away games those two seasons. This season, undefeated North Carolina welcomes Notre Dame to Chapel Hill after a bye week to prepare. Advantage: North Carolina Graduate student linebacker Noah Taylor, who transferred to UNC from Virginia, notched 2.5 sacks in his first three games with the Heels. PHOTO COURTESY UNC ATHLETICS