Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1479886
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 8, 2022 25 .913 Winning percentage for Notre Dame against North Carolina (21-2) in 23 all-time meetings. That is the best by the Fighting Irish against any opponent they have faced a mini- mum of 20 times. Navy is No. 2 on that list at .856 (80-13-1) and Georgia Tech is No. 3 at .824 (30-6-1). The Irish have won five straight games against the Tar Heels dating back to a 29-24 loss in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 2008 and are now 7-2 at Kenan Memo- rial Stadium. 2 Fighting Irish ball carriers rushed for at least 80 yards — sophomore Audric Estime had 17 attempts for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns, while junior Chris Tyree had 15 carries for 80 yards and 1 score — in the same game for the first time in five years. The last time it happened, quarterback Bran- don Wimbush (207) and running back Josh Adams (229) both eclipsed 200 yards rushing in a 49-20 win over Boston College on Sept. 16, 2017. 3 Touchdown passes for junior quarterback Drew Pyne in his first career road start. It marked the most scoring passes tossed by a Fight- ing Irish quarterback in his first career start on the road since then-freshman Ron Powlus tossed 4 in his Irish debut during a 42-15 win over Northwest- ern at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 3, 1994. 6 Straight scoring drives spanning from the end of the first quarter to early in the third quarter resulted in 38 points for the Fighting Irish, after their initial two possessions of the game resulted in a three-and-out (3 plays, 8 yards) and a missed field goal (7 plays, 17 yards). Notre Dame scored 5 touchdowns by 4 different players — junior tight end Michael Mayer, sopho- more wide receiver Lorenzo Styles, sophomore running back Logan Diggs and Estime twice — and 1 field goal (40 yards) by graduate student kicker Blake Grupe during that stretch. 8 Third-down conversions in 14 attempts (57.1 percent) for Notre Dame against North Caro- lina, after entering the game just 10 of 38 (26.3 percent) in its first three outings of the season. 24 Points scored in the second quarter by the Fighting Irish, matching the most they had scored in an entire game this season (24 vs. Cal Sept. 17). After scoring just 55 points in its first three con- tests of the season, Notre Dame nearly matched that figure with 45 against the Tar Heels. A missed 44-yard field goal by Grupe in the first quarter and an Estime fumble right at the goal in the fourth quarter kept the Irish from hitting the 55 mark vs. the Tar Heels. 25 Consecutive regular-season victories for Notre Dame against ACC opponents. The Fighting Irish did lose to Clemson in the 2018 College Football Playoff semifinals and the 2020 ACC Cham- pionship Game during that stretch, but have not lost to a regular-season meeting with an ACC foe since a 41-8 defeat at the hands of Miami on Nov. 12, 2017. Since the Notre Dame-ACC partnership in football began in 2014, the Fighting Irish have a 37-7 record (.841) against ACC gridiron competition. 38:13 Time of possession for the Fight- ing Irish, compared to just 21:47 for the Tar Heels. Notre Dame controlled the ball for 32 of the final 45 minutes of the game. 353 Combined yards from scrimmage on 49 offensive touches for the Fighting Irish's three-headed running back monster of Es- time (134), Diggs (115) and Tyree (104). The trio averaged 7.2 yards per touch and scored 4 touch- downs — 2 rushing by Estime, 1 rushing by Tyree and a 29-yard receiving score for Diggs. 576 Yards of total offense — a nearly per- fect balance of 289 passing and 287 rushing — for Notre Dame. That was the most yards racked up by an Irish offense since 568 in a 45-21 win vs. Syracuse on Dec. 5, 2020. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 1st Turnover forced by Notre Dame this season came with just more than 12 minutes remaining in the third quar- ter, when Tar Heels quarter- back Drake Maye had the ball knocked away from him by senior linebacker JD Bertrand on a 10-yard loss. Graduate student defensive end JUSTIN ADEMILOLA fell on the loose ball at the UNC 15-yard line, notching the first fumble recovery of his career. PHOTO BY KAYDEE GAWLIK