Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/393046
GAME PREVIEW: NORTH CAROLINA senior quarterback Everett Golson made a verbal commitment to attend North Carolina, before switching to the Irish and enrolling at ND in Janu‑ ary 2011. The opportunity is there for him to hurt the Tar Heels again. RED (AND YELLOW) FLAGS A red flag in football is dealing with too many yellow flags. Last year, North Carolina was penal‑ ized for a school‑record 831 yards (an average of 63.9 yards per game). This season it has been on pace to shatter that mark, especially after committing 15 penalties (second most in school history) for 130 yards in the 50‑35 loss at Clemson Sept. 27. Per Turner Walston of GoHeels.com, 22 of Clemson's points came either di‑ rectly as a result of those penalties or on drives that the Tar Heel miscues helped along. Understandably, third‑year Tar Heels head coach Larry Fedora's fo‑ cus is on his own team instead of the opponent. "We have to get ourselves right, right now, and really it's not about who we play," Fedora said. "It's still about our room and getting ourselves right." ✦ Predictions Douglas Farmer: Notre Dame 48, North Carolina 24 If Notre Dame has shown anything this season with Everett Golson taking snaps, it is that the Irish do not struggle to score. North Carolina, on the other hand, has great difficulty stopping opponents from scoring — most ignominiously giving up 70 and 50 points in successive weeks to East Carolina and Clem- son, respectively. Golson should salivate at the stats he can rack up against the Tar Heels. Tom Loy: Notre Dame 41, North Carolina 17 The Irish have far too much firepower on offense, and the Tar Heels don't have the talent to hang with them for 60 minutes. The North Carolina defense has been porous to say the least, and quarterback Everett Golson and wide receivers Will Fuller and Corey Robinson should have strong performances. This could be the perfect opportunity for a breakout game from tight end Ben Koyack. Andrew Owens: Notre Dame 41, North Carolina 21 Everything is set up for this to be a potential trap game for the Irish, with the Tar Heels stuck between Stanford and Florida State on the schedule. It will take a quarter or two for the Notre Dame offense to get going, but North Carolina's putrid defense won't be able to keep the Irish down for 60 minutes. Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 38, North Carolina 22 This can be a no-win situation for the Irish. Even if they score something like "only" 45 points, people might wonder "what's wrong?" when East Carolina and Clemson put up 120 between them. It will be more important for Notre Dame to calmly execute its game plan rather than think too much about what records it could set on offense. The Tar Heels are no slouch offensively, either.