January 1, Notre Dame Stays Perfect After Early Tar Heel Threat

Wyatt’s Take

• Notre Dame showed grit in the rain and held off an early UNC push to stay undefeated.
• Quarterback C.J. Carr threw four touchdowns and ran for another, proving steady leadership under pressure.
• Hard-working American fans respect teams that grind out wins instead of folding when the going gets tough.

Notre Dame survived a brief scare from UNC to win 37-26 in rainy conditions on Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.

Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr starred in the win, completing 21 of his 29 passes for 234 yards with four touchdown passes while rushing for 15 yards and a touchdown. Star wide receiver Jordan Faison hauled in eight passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

While No. 3 Notre Dame ended up cruising to victory with a strong second half, UNC started fast. The Tar Heels forced a punt on Notre Dame’s first possession of the game and then marched down the field on a seven-play, 74-yard drive that ended with quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. connecting with Shamar Easter on a 6-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0.

After that? Notre Dame scored 21 straight points. The Fighting Irish responded with a touchdown drive, then intercepted Edwards on the first play of UNC’s ensuing possession deep in Tar Heel territory.

On the first play after Edwards’ interception, Notre Dame quarterback Carr found Jaden Greathouse for a 12-yard touchdown to go up 14-7.

Edwards then threw another interception, this time in Notre Dame territory, and the Fighting Irish quickly went down the field to go up 21-7 on Carr’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Faison.

It looked like Notre Dame was going to roll. Up 21-7 with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter, the Fighting Irish went for the kill shot. At the UNC 3-yard line, Notre Dame went for it on fourth-and-goal.

However, the UNC defense stood tall, forcing an incompletion and a turnover on downs. The Tar Heels’ offense then put together its best drive of the day, going 97 yards in 15 plays, using more than seven minutes off the clock and scoring a touchdown just before halftime.

Edwards connected with Jelani Thurman for a 14-yard touchdown, making it a 21-14 game.

UNC got the ball first after halftime and came out firing, as Jaden Jefferson returned the opening kickoff of the second half 98 yards for a touchdown. However, in the rainy conditions, the snap from the long snapper was errant, and UNC did not convert the extra point, leaving the score at 21-20.

Notre Dame answered with a mammoth 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that included three separate fourth-down conversions. Carr, battling through the rain, scrambled outside the pocket and scored from 3 yards out on fourth-and-goal.

However, Notre Dame then scored again, this time without as much drama, on an eight-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Nolan James Jr. This time, the extra point was successful, putting Notre Dame up 34-20 early in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame’s defense once again shut down North Carolina, and the offense drove down the field but this time settled for a 31-yard field goal by Spencer Porath to go up 37-20 and make it a three-score game.

Thurman scored his second touchdown of the game, UNC’s first offensive touchdown of the second half, late in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 37-26, but at that point it was too late.

Notre Dame improved to 5-0 with the win and will look to keep things rolling when they host Stanford (2-3) next Saturday. UNC falls to 2-2 with the loss, and will look to bounce back when they play Pittsburgh on the road next Saturday.

Wyatt Matters

Nothing beats a team that sticks to fundamentals and refuses to let bad weather or early setbacks knock them off course. That same spirit keeps heartland families pushing forward through hard times.