Kyren Williams’ 91-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter gave Notre Dame some breathing room and the Fighting Irish held on for a 44-34 victory on Saturday night over a potent North Carolina squad. Both offenses stormed up and down the field most of the night. Carolina used explosive plays to score while Notre Dame was more methodical. That is, until Williams decided enough was enough.

Nursing a slim 31-27 lead, the Irish were pinned deep in their own territory as the final period began. Williams took a first down handoff to the right, saw it was closed off, reversed his field, and stiff-armed 265-pound linebacker Tomon Fox as he turned the corner and streaked down the sideline. A key downfield block by Michael Mayer cleared the final obstacle as Williams breezed into the end zone.

An interception by D.J. Brown on the next Carolina play from scrimmage set up a Jonathan Doerer field goal. Notre Dame’s lead had suddenly expanded to 41-27 but there were still 12 minutes left. Quarterback Sam Howell, who would throw for 341 yards and run for 102 more, ran out of time and magic despite pulling his team to within 41-34 with a 31-yard scoring run. The Irish burned the clock after that score with a long march that ended with a final three-pointer from Doerer.

The first half had plenty of action as well. Tyler Buchner opened the scoring with a short touchdown pass to Avery Davis. The Tar Heels answered on the first play of the second period with a scoring run by Ty Chandler. The drive was aided by a 41-yard strike from Howell to Josh Downs where offensive pass interference was ignored by the officials. The teams then exchanged field goals before Jack Coan hit Kevin Austin with a back shoulder throw for a score and a 17-10 Irish advantage with 1:23 left in the half.

Carolina took advantage of Notre Dame’s prevent defense to move into field goal position as the clock ticked down. Kicker Grayson Atkins had just enough time to close the gap to 17-13 before the teams retreated to their respective locker rooms.

Chandler gave the Heels their first and only lead of the night less than two minutes into the third quarter. Trailing now by 20-17, Coan needed only three plays to jump back in front. He completed a pass to impressive freshman Lorenzo Styles before rumbling into the end zone untouched from 21 yards on a scramble. The Irish defense finally held on the next series. The offense responded with an 81 yard touchdown march to build a 31-20 cushion.

The Tar Heels caught the Irish secondary in disarray two minutes later. Howell hit a wide open Antoine Green for a 33-yard score to pull Carolina within 31-27 as the game officially became a shootout. A rare exchange of punts set the stage for Williams’ highlight reel run, which may have been the best Irish run from scrimmage since Erik Penick’s 85-yarder in 1973. Of course, that one occurred against USC in a national championship season. Still, Williams worked harder for his score and his stiff-arm of Fox to the turf will never be topped.

Williams finished with 202 yards on 22 carries. The team gained 293 yards on the ground and 523 overall. Carolina shredded the Notre Dame defense for 554 total yards.

Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions for more analysis.

• Will the Irish secondary be successful in limiting explosive plays without Hamilton? Not at all. Brown’s interception was a rare bright spot in an otherwise forgettable performance.
• Which team will make crucial mistakes or turnovers? The lone mistake by Howell occurred in the fourth quarter and put Carolina down by 14 points.
• Will Notre Dame’s front four be able to force Howell out of his comfort zone? The Irish front played fairly well, but Howell masterfully sidestepped the rush and made positive yards.
• Which team will have success running the ball? Both teams ran well. The Irish left points on the field with two failed series inside the five yard line.
• Can the Irish wide receivers get open against the Carolina corners? Austin was inconsistent and Braden Lenzy was not a factor. He was injured in the second half and it now looks like Styles has earned the job anyway.
• Will the quarterback tandem of Coan and Buchner work well once again? The two-quarterback system worked well on the first scoring drive with Buchner’s pass to Davis. After that, it seemed disjointed and failed to produce the desired results.
• Which special teams will make a significant contribution? Doerer’s three field goals were perect and Williams had a long punt return to set up the first touchdown of the game.
• Can the Spartans take out the Evil Empire? Yes, and it was indescribably delicious.

Notre Dame moves to 7-1 on the season with a home game against Navy next. The offense has made strides toward run/pass balance and did not turn over the ball. Some red zone refinement is still needed. Defensively, it was a poor showing by the back seven. Tackling was once again sloppy and players were repeatedly out of position. This was easily the worst performance by linebackers J.D. Bertrand and Drew White this season. It’s one thing to miss tackles against a tough running back or a quick receiver, but you know things are bad when a quarterback runs over and through you all night long. As much as the offense has improved in eight games, the defense has steadily gotten worse.

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