Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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its ground-and-pound offense if spring ball is any indication. Senior Tyler Gaffney, the battering ram of a running back that had 331 carries last season, graduated. The Cardinal have several options in the backfield, but none with proven bell-cow durability. With a third-year quarterback in Kevin Hogan and some talented options at receiver, the rugby scrum formations might be a little less common for head coach David Shaw in 2014. NORTH CAROLINA • OCT. 11 2013 RECORD: 7-6, 4-4 ACC LAST MEETING: North Carolina 29, Notre Dame 24 (2008) TOUGHEST TO REPLACE: Tight end Eric Ebron's athleticism, which made him a first-round pick in early May, will be missed by the North Carolina of- fense this year. He led the team with 62 catches and 973 yards as a hybrid tight end last season. Ebron made cir- cus catches seem routine for the Tar Heels, a talent they won't be able to replace next fall. KEY PLAYERS: Starting cornerbacks Brian Walker and Des Lawrence, both sophomores from the Charlotte area, came as a pair for head coach Larry Fedora this spring. He said no one took a bigger jump in the spring than that duo. Both ramped up their pro- duction in November last year, but are expected to have much larger roles in the secondary going forward. SPRING OUTLOOK: The biggest quar- terback controversy among Notre Dame's opponents became more mud- dled during spring practice. Sopho- more Mitch Trubisky will push return- ing junior Marquise Williams for the starting job throughout August. If the Tar Heels are going to build on their 6-1 finish to last season, though, they'll need a step forward from a defense that has underperformed in the first two years under Fedora. AT FLORIDA STATE • OCT. 18 2013 Record: 14-0, 8-0 ACC LAST MEETING: Florida State 18, Notre Dame 14 (2011) TOUGHEST TO REPLACE: Defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan was the Seminoles' version of Louis Nix III during their run to a third national championship last season. Jernigan ate up double teams in the middle of the line, which allowed Florida State to use the smaller, faster linebackers on the coun- try's top passing defense. Jernigan still managed to provide 63 tackles of his Dual-threat junior quarterback Marquise Williams helped the Tar Heels to a 6-1 finish in 2013, but will have to fend off the competition to retain the starting job. PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA