Undefeated and sixth-ranked Notre Dame will try to continue its winning ways on Saturday afternoon as the Fighting Irish host North Carolina. The Tar Heels (2-3) are coached by Larry Fedora, who is 17-13 in his third year in Chapel Hill after four successful seasons at Southern Mississippi. While Notre Dame will try to avoid an emotional letdown between last week’s thrilling victory over Stanford and next week’s showdown at Florida State, North Carolina is simply trying to right the ship after three consecutive losses in which it surrendered 154 points. The Irish lead the all-time series between these schools by 16-2, but the Tar Heels won the last meeting at home in 2008 by a 29-24 score. Saturday’s game will be nationally televised on NBC starting at 3:30 PM Eastern.

The Irish came through the battle against Stanford with no new injuries, and the team is getting back to its healthiest level of the season now that safety Austin Collinsworth and wide receiver Torii Hunter, Jr. are available for duty. The five players suspended in the preseason for alleged honor code violations remain out of the lineup. No reliable information has been made available as of today regarding the outcomes of their individual hearings, but sources are opining that none will play for Notre Dame this season.

The Tar Heels have been recovering from a cheating scandal that went public in 2012 and resulted in severe penalties. The academic fraud violations stemmed from the former tutor constructing significant parts of writing assignments for three football student-athletes. Although there are similarities to the ongoing issues being investigated at Notre Dame, there are significant differences at North Carolina including illicit payment to athletes. This tutor also provided $4,000 in impermissible benefits, including airfare and payment for outstanding parking tickets, to 11 football student-athletes after she graduated and was no longer a university employee. The tutor also refused to cooperate with the investigation.

The case also included the provision of thousands of dollars in impermissible benefits to multiple student-athletes beyond those described above. The NCAA found that seven football players accepted more than $27,500 in benefits from various individuals, some of whom triggered NCAA agent rules. These impermissible benefits included cash, flights, meals, lodging, athletic training, admission to clubs and jewelry, among others. While the value of the benefits the student-athletes varied, one student-athlete received more than $13,500 cash and gifts.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions hit the Tar Heels with three years’ probation from March 2012 through March 2015, a reduction of 15 scholarships over those three years and 16 Vacated wins in 2008-09. The program is obviously still impacted by the loss of scholarships.

The offensive line in particular has been decimated by injuries and young players have been pressed into service with disastrous results. Fedora’s team has been on the verge of complete disarray in the last few weeks, with an extreme number of penalties, turnovers, dropped passes, sacks allowed, and defensive assignment breakdowns. “It would be easy if it was just one guy — we could replace one guy — but that’s not the way it is,” Fedora said. “We take turns shooting ourselves in the foot right now.”

Notre Dame had experienced its own set of problems along the offensive line, but injuries are not really a factor. The group simply has not performed well from a physical standpoint. Anyone who witnessed Irish linemen getting pushed around by Stanford or standing still in confusion on the snap count while defenders rushed past them can understand why this 5-0 team is not ranked higher than sixth. In order to be considered a serious candidate for a playoff berth, Notre Dame will either have to remain undefeated or improve its line play to the point where it can differentiate itself from what is certain to be an abundance of one-loss teams from power conferences.

NOTRE DAME’S OFFENSE vs. NORTH CAROLINA’S DEFENSE

The Tar Heels appear to be much worse statistically than their talent level would suggest. The team has surrendered 42 points and 505 yards per game this season, and allowed opponents to convert on an alarming 49% of third downs. Fedora employs a hybrid 4-2-5 defensive alignment, consisting of three down linemen, two inside linebackers, four defensive backs and two quasi outside linebackers called “Bandit” and RAM”. The Bandit position typically lines up in a down position as a defensive end, and is manned by senior Norkeithus Otis. The RAM position is essentially an extra safety and the task is split between freshman Donnie Miles and junior Malik Simmons. Each measures less than six feet and 200 pounds.

Two freshmen linemen have impressed in recent games. End Dajuan Drennon and tackle Nazair Jones have a knack for getting into the backfield and disrupting opponents. They are joined by Ethan Farmer and Devonte Brown, tackle Justin Thomason and end Junior Gnonkonde to form a strong rotation up front. Interior linebackers Jeff Schoettmer and Travis Hughes are on the small side. In the secondary, cornerback Brian Walker has three interceptions and is the best player in the group. Des Lawrence is the opposite corner, and is often targeted by opponents despite the fact that he is a talented athlete. Unfortunately for North Carolina, this group has been burned for several big plays due to lapses in coverage.

Notre Dame should be able to diversify its attack and try to keep North Carolina off balance. Defensive confusion can lead to big plays in both running and passing, as has been the case in recent weeks. The Tar Heels are likely to overpursue in the early going and the Irish can take advantage of this aggression. Everett Golson should also get back to throwing an occasional deep ball to keep North Carolina honest. That strategy may depend on the health of receivers Will Fuller and Amir Carlisle, who are a bit banged up right now.

The Irish must also continue to make strides in the running game. The Tar Heels front seven is certainly a notch below Stanford, but the line and backs need to develop confidence and timing regardless of the opponent.

NORTH CAROLINA’S OFFENSE vs. NOTRE DAME’S DEFENSE

Junior quarterback Marquise Williams, who leads the team in rushing and passing, is the focal point of the Carolina offense. The skill positions surrounding Williams are deep and talented. The Tar Heels are yet another team that employs a three man running back rotation. T.J. Logan, Romar Morris and former Irish recruit Elijah Hood share the legwork, and Hood has the most carries and yardage to date.

A group of wide receivers lead by the versatile Ryan Switzer provides Williams with plenty of options. Switzer is joined by Quin Davis, Bug Howard and Mack Collins, all of whom can run well. Senior tight end Jack Tabb is also very much an integral part of the attack. Coach Fedora has been criticized for inserting backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky into games at regular intervals, but he claims that he is trying to reduce the number of hits on his dual threat starter. Trubisky is more of a pocket passer, but his pick-six interception against Virginia Tech last week was a key turning point in that contest.

It has been difficult for these capable athletes to execute consistently given the problems up front. What was already a young offensive line has been hit hard by injuries, and the only current members that have started all five games are left tackle John Ferranto and center Lucas Crowley. One telling indication of the problem is that Logan, Morris and Hood combined for only nine carries and 15 yards last week.

The Irish need to focus on making it a long day for Williams. There will be opportunities to apply pressure without necessarily having to blitz, and it will be possible for host to shut down the run by having Jarron Jones and Sheldon Day win individual battles inside. While the Tar Heels possess big play capability in the passing game, they seem to make too many mistakes to sustain long drives.

SPECIAL TEAMS

As long as holder Hunter Smith dons his gloves when conditions dictate, Notre Dame will again enjoy an advantage in the kicking game. Kyle Brindza is a valuable weapon for the Irish while the Tar Heel kickers have not connected beyond 23 yards all season and are 0-2 from beyond that point. Primary kicker Nick Weiler is similar to Brindza in that he has a powerful leg and his kickoffs are usually not returnable.

Carolina punter Tommy Hibbard does not boot it very long but again the opponents rarely get a chance to bring one back. Logan and Morris bring back kicks and have above-average ability while Switzer is a dangerous punt return man. The Irish have struggled on kickoff returns for a few weeks and may not get many chances in this or on punt returns this week.

SUMMARY

North Carolina is emotionally down right now but there is too much talent on the roster for them to fail to show up in a nationally televised game. Notre Dame needs to get off to a fast start, establish superiority at the line of scrimmage and force the Tar Heels to into discouragement or panic. Protecting the football is also an important consideration in this battle. The Irish have been sloppy in the past two games after a strong start, while North Carolina has paid dearly for its turnovers in recent weeks.

The Irish are capable of racking up 200 yards rushing and 300 passing yards against the Tar Heels if they play a relatively clean game. The Tar Heels are not particularly big up front and several young linemen are seeing significant action, in some cases before they are ready to succeed at this level. This really is a week in which Notre Dame focuses less on the quality of the opponent and more on simply becoming more efficient executing its offense. Defensively, Brian VanGorder’s charges should be able to bring enough pressure to neutralize Carolina’s weapons unless they commit mental lapses in pass coverage.

Here are a few questions that will shed light on the outcome:

Which offensive line will overcome its early season problems and play well?

Can Notre Dame maintain a high intensity level after the dramatic win against Stanford?

Will the Irish defense get into the scoring act?

Which team’s talented skill players will break free for long gains?

Can one or more of the Notre Dame backs gain 100 yards rushing?

Will Irish fans be able to relax and enjoy a quiet fourth quarter?

How ’bout those Wolverines?

PREDICTION

Notre Dame is the clear choice on paper, but there are factors that can easily alter the course of the game toward a close encounter. The Irish are bound to be distracted by the impact of the honor code investigation on their fellow players and emotionally drained following the conquest of Stanford with a road trip to Tallahassee on the horizon. The Tar Heels will give it their best shot, but Notre Dame has learned how to win even when they are not firing on all cylinders.

NOTRE DAME 31 NORTH CAROLINA 17