Game To Watch: #2 Notre Dame at #25 North Carolina: November 27, 2020

Thanksgiving weekend brings Friday football. One of the key games on Friday will be played 3:30 when Notre Dame visits North Carolina. The Fighting Irish are 8 – 0 overall and 7 – 0 in the ACC, they beat Boston College 45 – 31 before a bye last weekend. North Carolina is 6 – 2 overall and in ACC play, they beat Wake Forest in a shootout 59 – 53 that last time out but were also off last weekend. Notre Dame is in great shape in the ACC standings, while North Carolina needs to win out and get some help to make the ACC title game.

Recent History

Notre Dame and North Carolina have played twice in the past decade, with Notre Dame winning both contests. The Fighting Irish won a shootout 50 – 43 at home in 2014 and went on the road for a convincing 33 – 10 win in 2017. North Carolina has only beaten Notre Dame twice in it’s history, but the win in 2008 was later vacated, leaving just one win for the Tar Heels. That win came in 1960. North Carolina will look to breakthrough and finally pick up a recent win against Notre Dame on Friday.

Top Players

What To Watch For…

Can North Carolina’s defense force Notre Dame into negative plays?

Notre Dame’s offense is built around their excellent offensive line. That group has paved the way for the running game and given Ian Book time to find his receivers downfield. The line will be without starting center Jarrett Patterson and starting guard Tommy Kraemer. Even without two key pieces, Notre Dame’s offense still has a strong group up front and playmakers at the skill positions. Notre Dame has scored over 40 points the last two games and in three of the last four. On the other hand, North Carolina has had its struggles on defense. The last time out they gave up 53 points to Wake Forest. This was the third time they allowed over 40 points this season. North Carolina will struggle to slow down the Notre Dame offense consistently and will need to make big plays to get the Fighting Irish off schedule. With sacks, tackles for loss, and turnovers they can stymie the Notre Dame offense and give their offense the opportunity to outscore Notre Dame. Of course, Notre Dame does a good job of eliminating negative plays and has been winning the turnover battle this year, so that will be easier said than done.

How will the Notre Dame defense fare against the Tar Heels’ offense?

Notre Dame’s defense had been playing well this season, but they had their two worst games of the season in their last two games. Even after giving up 40 points to Clemson and 31 to Boston College, Notre Dame still allows just 16.6 points per game. The North Carolina offense ranks tenth in the country averaging 43.1 points per game. The Tar Heels are led by star quarterback Sam Howell who is averaging over 325 yards per game and has 23 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. The Tar Heels have a plethora of weapons in the passing game with six receivers who have over 200 receiving yards this season. North Carolina is not just a pass heavy offense, they also have two running backs in Javonte Williams and Michael Carter that are both averaging over 100 yards per game. The array of weapons makes North Carolina tough to match-up with over 60 minutes but Notre Dame’s defense is the most talented that North Carolina has faced this year. If they are able to slow down the Tar Heels offense, it will be tough for North Carolina to win a defensive struggle.

Which running back will have the best game?

There are three running backs ranked in our top 25 running backs playing in this game. North Carolina has the aforementioned Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, while Notre Dame features Kyren Williams who is averaging 97.1 yards per game this season. Both teams will attempt to establish the running game to help control the game and keep the opposing offense on the sideline. Whichever team pulls ahead will then lean on their running game to melt away the game. Obviously, a strong running game will be a key to winning the game but with three talented backs it will also be interesting to see which one can step up and have the best game. It’s always fun to watch the best players compete, even if they aren’t on the field against one another, great athletes will look to one up each other when they get their turn. Running the ball successfully will be a key to the game, but also a fun stat to watch with three top backs in the same game.

Prediction

Both teams have good offenses that are going to score points in this game. Notre Dame has the better defense and has the ability to get more stops than North Carolina. Even if Notre Dame builds an early lead, the Tar Heels have shown the ability to comeback and will not let Notre Dame pull away. The game will be close but Notre Dame is the more complete team and will pull out the win. Notre Dame 38 North Carolina 31.

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