Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 9, 2023 37 GAME PREVIEW: NORTH CAROLINA STATE in coverage, made Wake Forest pay. "That's a really good defense," Wake coach Dave Clawson said. "We had a good week of practice, and we gave good effort, but I thought our execution at times was not there. We just made too many mistakes, and we are a team that can't turn the ball over." Hartman came close to an intercep- tion in the third quarter of his otherwise stellar Notre Dame debut. He threw to senior slot receiver Chris Tyree, run- ning a 10-yard curl route, on third- and-11 at the Navy 24-yard line. He did not see Midshipmen safety Rayuan Lane sitting on the route, and if Lane timed his jump correctly it could have been six points the other way. On Aug. 28, Freeman told reporters that Hartman could have made a better read there. But he admitted he was be- ing picky. Notre Dame's aggressiveness in the transfer portal rewarded the Irish with a star at the most important posi- tion in football. Doeren and the Wolfpack hope their graduate transfer gambit pays off, too. ✦ 2023 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 26 vs. Navy* W, 42-3 Sept. 2 Tennessee State W, 56-3 Sept. 9 at NC State (ABC) 12 p.m. Sept. 16 C. Michigan (Peacock) 2:30 p.m. Sept. 23 Ohio State (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at Duke TBA Oct. 7 at Louisville TBA Oct. 14 USC (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 Pittsburgh (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Clemson (ABC) TBA Nov. 18 Wake Forest (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at Stanford TBA * at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland Junior cornerback Aydan White intercepted Sam Hartman in last year's game, a 30-21 victory over Wake Forest. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS 2023 NORTH CAROLINA STATE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 at Connecticut W, 24-14 Sept. 9 Notre Dame (ABC) 12 p.m. Sept. 16 VMI (CW) 2 p.m. Sept. 22 at Virginia (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 Louisville (ESPN) 7 p.m. Oct. 7 Marshall TBA Oct. 14 at Duke TBA Oct. 28 Clemson TBA Nov. 4 Miami TBA Nov. 11 at Wake Forest TBA Nov. 18 at Virginia Tech TBA Nov. 25 North Carolina TBA Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE Date: Sept. 9, 2023 Site: Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET Television: ABC/ESPN+ Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates. Series Facts: Notre Dame is 1-2 all time against NC State. The Wolfpack beat the Irish 28-6 in 2003 and 10-3 in 2016. Notre Dame won 35-14 in 2017. Head Coaches: NC State — Dave Doeren (73-54, 11th season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (11-5, 2nd season). Noting North Carolina State: The Wolfpack is 18-2 at home over the past three years, with losses to Boston College in 2022 (one week before Notre Dame beat BC 44-0) and Miami in 2020 by a combined four points … Doeren's last loss in a home opener was against South Carolina on Sept. 2, 2017 … The Wolfpack finished 8-5 in 2022, which was their fourth straight season with eight or more wins … NC State lost to Maryland 16-12 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl Dec. 30 … In addition to the No. 1 scoring defense in the ACC, the Wolfpack finished third in total defense, third in yards allowed per carry and second in passing yards surrendered per attempt … Bookend tackles Anthony Belton and Timothy McKay helped allow the fourth-fewest sacks in the ACC last year with 26 … NC State's turnover margin of plus-6 in 2022 tied for 24th in the nation. … The Wolfpack ranked 99th in the country with 21.8 points per game last season.