Josh Adams had a 77-yard touchdown run and Julian Love pitched in with a 69-yard yard interception return in a decisive third quarter as Notre Dame (7-1) ran over North Carolina State by 35-14 on Saturday. Adams finished with 202 yards against the highly touted Wolfpack defense, and the Irish smothered NC State’s passing game all day with tight coverage and quarterback pressures. Notre Dame recorded 318 rushing yards to just 50 for the Wolfpack. Mike Elko’s charges hounded Ryan Finley, who had completed 69% of his throws entering the game, into a nervous 17 for 37 performance. The win should enable the ninth-ranked Irish to rise in the AP and Coaches polls, while the first playoff rankings are released on Tuesday.

The game started ominously for the hosts, as a three and out offensive series was followed by a blocked punt in the end zone for a Wolfpack touchdown. Notre Dame responded in fine fashion with a two play drive capped by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Durham Smythe, and the war was definitely on. Both sides threw haymakers in a physical first half, but the Irish had an answer every time they were challenged. With the game tied at 14 midway through the second quarter, Smythe had a great catch along the sideline where he kept his toes in bounds on a big third down play. Brandon Wimbush then hit Kevin Stepherson in the corner of the end zone on the next play for an 11-yard score and the first lead of the day. Stepherson was initially ruled out of bounds but replay showed he also kept his toes barely inside the sideline.

Notre Dame held off NC State before the half to go into the locker room with a 21-14 advantage. Finley led the Wolfpack downfield after receiving the second half kickoff, but a mis-timed snap threw off Finley’s timing on a third down pass. The pass that followed was a duck down the sidelines that Love picked off and began his return with a convoy of Irish escorts. Love coasted into the end zone and a drive that could possibly have tied the game turned into a 28-14 lead for Notre Dame.

NC State made another run at the Irish with a long march on the next series, but a fourth down and one yard gamble inside the Notre Dame five was stuffed by linebacker Te’Von Coney. The Wolfpack visibly sagged, and the Irish took advantage a few minutes later when Adams burst through the line against a stacked defense and created another of his patented long runs for a 77-yard score. State never threatened after that dagger and Notre Dame chose not to run up the score when the running game asserted full control over the beaten and battered visitors.

Let’s look at the answers to the pregame questions for more game insight.

Will Wimbush have time to find receivers, set his feet and deliver accurate passes? Wimbush was pressured early, but settled in to make some excellent throws to Smythe and Stepherson. The one that got away was an overthrown deep ball to a wide open Stepherson at the goal line, and the refs also ignored blatant pass interference on a route to Miles Boykin that should have been a touchdown.

Can the Irish defensive line force Finley out of his comfort zone? Notre Dame’s rushers got inside Finley’s head in the second half, and he was visibly gun-shy in the last 20 minutes.

Which team will be able to generate turnovers? Love had the first interception of Finley all season, which stunned the Wolfpack. Coney’s fourth down stop in scoring territory was essentially another turnover.

Can the Irish secondary tackle well and prevent excess yards after a catch? The tight coverage, pass breakups and sure tackling was certainly the best performance by an Irish secondary in recent memory.

Which team will perform best in the red zone? Notre Dame scored touchdowns on its two chances while the Wolfpack converted one of two times.

To what extent will special teams impact the outcome? They didn’t ruin the day for Notre Dame, but the second punt block for a score in two games against NC State was inexcusable. The horrid performance of the Irish special teams throughout this season (and over Kelly’s entire eight years at Notre Dame) is absolutely maddening. So much for hiring Brian Polian to fix the problem.

Can the Irish sustain the level of intensity needed to beat another quality opponent? Yes, they quickly responded to challenges throughout the first half and showed no mercy in the second.

Aside from the lousy special teams (Have I mentioned them yet?), there is much to like about this Notre Dame squad. They play the style of football its hard core fan base wants to see and do it with passion, pride and obvious joy. Next up is another home affair against Wake forest, and Elko might have an idea or two about how to defend them.