Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540095
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 11, 2025 39 GAME PREVIEW: NORTH CAROLINA STATE when sophomore left tackle Anthonie Knapp and redshirt junior right tackle Aamil Wagner can help set the tone in run blocking. Two teams have rushed for 200 or more yards against North Carolina State this season: Virginia (257) and Virginia Tech (229). Virginia owns one of the top rush- ing offenses in the country through the first five weeks of the season, but Virginia Tech rushed for 91 more yards against the Wolfpack than the Hokies were averaging entering the game. The Irish should sur- pass the 200-yard mark as well. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. NORTH CAROLINA STATE PASS DEFENSE The Wolfpack's pass defense started the season just about as poorly as Notre Dame's did, allowing 267.6 passing yards per outing across its first five games of the season. The Irish allowed 268.8 per game through four games. Notre Dame redshirt freshman CJ Carr should be excited about the matchup with North Carolina State. Each of the Wolf- pack's first four opponents passed for at least 250 yards. North Carolina State's coverage weak- ness has been in the middle of the field. The five worst PFF coverage grades for Wolfpack defenders through Week 5 be- longed to its top three safeties — JJ John- son (58.8), Brody Barnhardt (51.9) and Ronnie Royal III (45.8) — and its line- backer tandem of Brown (59.4) and Ford- ham (47.9) The Irish should try to exploit those weaknesses with regularity. Carr has shown a willingness to test the middle of the field when necessary. He completed 29 of 42 passes (69.0 percent) for 400 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 intercep- tion between the numbers, per PFF, in his first four starts. Notre Dame should try to get its tight ends and slot receivers in winnable matchups in the middle of the field. Se- nior tight end Eli Raridon, who didn't catch a pass for the first time this season against Arkansas, should be a popular tar- get. Slot receivers Jaden Greathouse, a junior, and Will Pauling, a redshirt senior, have started to earn more trust from Carr in recent weeks. Junior Jordan Faison (19 catches for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns) and red- shirt senior Malachi Fields (13 catches for 275 yards and 1 touchdown) were Notre Dame's best receivers through the first four games, and they likely will be heard from against North Carolina State's sec- ondary as well. So long as Notre Dame's pass protec- tion continues to improve, Carr might be able to spread the ball wherever he wants. The Wolfpack totaled just 7 sacks in its first five games, so the pass rush shouldn't be too much for the Irish line to handle. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Price's 100-yard kickoff return touch- down against Purdue accounted for more kickoff return yardage than North Caro- lina State totaled in its first five games (90). The Wolfpack haven't posed much of a threat on punt returns this season either. Notre Dame hasn't needed to use se- nior punter James Rendell much in re- cent weeks, but he allowed the Irish to be one of the top 20 teams in net punting OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LT 65 Jacarrius Peak 6-4 308 R-Jr. 64 Rico Jackson 6-6 322 R-So. LG 75 Anthony Carter Jr. 6-3 318 Gr. 71 Yousef Mugharbil 6-5 322 R-Sr. C 74 Jalen Grant 6-1 304 Gr. 72 Spike Sowells 6-2 312 Fr. RG 79 Kamen Smith 6-5 325 R-So. 50 Val Erickson 6-5 320 R-Jr. RT 54 Teague Andersen 6-5 322 R-So. 73 Darion Rivers 6-6 321 R-So. TE-B 7 Justin Joly 6-3 263 Jr. 82 Preston Douglas 6-3 228 Fr. TE-Y 44 Cody Hardy 6-4 267 Sr. 87 Dante Daniels 6-6 279 R-Sr. X 6 Wesley Grimes 6-2 195 Sr. 12 Teddy Hoffman 6-1 181 Fr. Y 8 Keenan Jackson 6-3 202 So. 27 Ashton Locklear 6-1 188 R-Jr. Z 5 Noah Rogers 6-2 197 R-So. or 9 Terrell Anderson 6-2 192 So. RB 3 Hollywood Smothers 5-11 193 R-So. 4 Duke Scott 5-10 215 R-Fr. QB 11 CJ Bailey 6-6 213 So. 2 Lex Thomas 5-11 195 R-So. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. E 54 Sabastian Harsh 6-3 263 Gr. 92 Chase Bond 6-4 265 R-Fr. N 44 Brandon Cleveland 6-4 315 Sr. 52 Chazz Wallace 6-2 308 Gr. T 13 Travali Price 6-4 285 Gr. 88 Isaiah Shirley 6-3 280 R-So. JACK 8 Cian Slone 6-4 252 Gr. or 4 Tra Thomas 6-3 237 Gr. NIC 22 Jackson Vick 6-0 190 R-Jr. or 26 Asaad Brown 6-0 199 R-Fr. MLB 0 Sean Brown 6-0 225 Gr. 35 LaCorian Hodge 6-2 217 Fr. WLB 1 Caden Fordham 6-1 230 Gr. 33 Kenny Soares Jr. 6-2 233 Gr. SAM 33 Kenny Soares Jr. 6-2 233 Gr. 42 Ke'Von Carter 6-3 223 Fr. LCB 6 Devon Marshall 5-11 200 Sr. 32 Michael Tate 6-2 180 R-So. SS 29 Brody Barnhardt 6-0 190 R-Fr. 16 JJ Johnson 5-10 200 Gr. FS 16 JJ Johnson 5-10 200 Gr. 2 Ronnie Royal II 5-9 185 R-Fr. RCB 21 Jamel Johnson 5-11 196 R-Jr. or 7 Brian Nelson II 6-0 197 R-So. SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 91 Nick Koniecznski 5-11 215 R-Fr. or 94 Kanoah Vinesett 6-1 205 Gr. P 98 Caden Noonkester 6-6 215 Gr. 96 Owen Fehr 5-11 187 R-So. KO 84 Charlie Birtwistle 5-11 210 R-Fr. 91 Nick Koniecznski 5-11 215 R-Fr. LS 95 Jake Mann 5-10 232 R-Sr. 92 Aiden Arias 6-0 207 R-So. H 98 Caden Noonkester 6-6 215 Gr. 96 Owen Fehr 5-11 187 R-So. PR 6 Wesley Grimes 6-2 195 Sr. 12 Teddy Hoffman 6-1 181 Fr. KOR 4 Duke Scott 5-10 215 R-Fr. 3 Hollywood Smothers 5-11 193 R-So. NORTH CAROLINA STATE WOLFPACK TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART