Irish Offense Dominates At North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of Notre Dame football team earned a 45-32 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels in Kenan Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon. After going scoreless on its first two drives, the Irish offense exploded to score on seven of its next eight possessions to earn the victory. The Irish improve to 2-2 on the season, while handing North Carolina its first loss this season. 

Quarterback Drew Pyne built on the foundation he laid a week ago in his first career start, a victory over Cal. Pyne finished the contest 24-for-34 for 289 yards and three scores, all of which are career bests. 

Audric Estimé and Chris Tyree led a ground attack that totaled a season-high 287 yards. Estimé finished with a career-best 134 yards on 17 carries and a career-best two touchdowns. Tyree added 80 yards on 15 carries as the Irish offense averaged over five yards per carry against the Tar Heel defense. 

Michael Mayer led a diverse passing attack with seven receptions for 88 yards, followed by Lorenzo Styles with five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Tar Heels struck first on their opening drive. North Carolina opened it up with a 28-yard pass in front of the Notre Dame sideline to move near midfield. Two scrambles picked up 27 yards and put the ball down on the Notre Dame one-yard line. The Irish defense held for three downs before UNC quarterback Drake Maye found Josh Downs in the corner of the end zone for the early score. Noah Burnette’s kick was good and the Tar Heels took a 7-0 lead just over five minutes into the contest. 

The Irish answered to begin the second quarter. Pyne hit Diggs down the North Carolina sideline for a 34-yard yard gain, the longest reception of Diggs’s career to that point, moving Notre Dame into Tar Heel territory. Three-consecutive carries by Tyree moved the Irish 24 yards to the UNC 10. On first and goal, Pyne hit Mayer on a crossing route for a 10-yard score. Blake Grupe was true on the extra point and the Irish tied it up with 12:57 remaining in the first half. 

After forcing a three-and-out for the Tar Heel offense, Notre Dame marched 66 yards in just three plays to take the lead. Estimé ran up the middle for a career-best 29-yard carry to move Notre Dame into North Carolina territory. On the next play, Pyne faked the handoff to the sophomore running back and hit Lorenzo Styles over the top for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Styles’s first touchdown reception of the season. Grupe’s kick was good and the Irish led 14-7 at the 10:01 mark in the second quarter. 

North Carolina answered with a score of its own as Maye went back to Downs for the score. The touchdown pass capped off a nine-play 76-yard drive that took three minutes off the clock and tied the game at 14 with 6:55 left in the first half. 

After a third down conversion from Pyne to Jayden Thomas, the Irish rattled off back-to-back 15-plus yard rushes by Tyree and Diggs to put the ball into North Carolina territory. Pyne found Mayer who muscled his way down to the one before Estimé capped the drive with a one-yard score. Grupe was true on the extra point and the Irish took the 21-14 lead with two and a half minutes left in the half. 

The Notre Dame defense forced another UNC three-and-out to get the ball back to the offense. The Irish went 52 yards in 12 plays before settling for a Grupe 40-yard field goal. North Carolina ran the clock out and the Irish took a 24-14 lead into halftime. The 24 points for Notre Dame are the most in a half for the Irish in the 2022 season. 

Notre Dame took the second half kick and marched 75 yards in six plays for another score. The Irish ran Tyree on three-straight plays for 19 yards before attacking in the air. Pyne hit Styles for a 16-yard gain before rolling to his right and finding Diggs on the wheel route for a 29-yard score. Grupe was good on the extra point and the Irish led 31-14 just minutes into the second half.

On North Carolina’s first possession of the second half, the Irish defense got the turnover that had eluded them thus far in the 2022 season. The UNC quarterback was pressured by JD Bertrand up the middle and while scrambling, dropped the ball and Justin Ademilola fell on it, giving Notre Dame the ball at the UNC 15 yard line. The Irish used seven plays to travel the final 15 yards for the score as Estime leaped over the pile for his second touchdown of the afternoon to put the Irish up 38-14. 

After the Irish turned it over on downs deep in North Carolina territory, the Tar Heels struck pay dirt immediately, connecting on an 80-yard touchdown pass to cut the Notre Dame lead down to 38-20 after the failed two-point conversion. 

Notre Dame responded well after giving up the big play. The Irish offense put together a 12-play, 75-yard drive that lasted more than six minutes to go up by 25 points. The Irish ran for 55 yards on the drive, capped by a one-yard score from Tyree – his first rushing touchdown of the season. Notre Dame led 45-20 with 13:04 remaining in the game. 

The Tar Heels refused to go away in the final quarter, driving 75 yards in nine plays to cut into the Notre Dame lead. Maye found Omarion Hampton in the flat who ran in from 10 yards out. The conversion attempt failed and the Irish led 45-26 with 9:47 remaining in the game. 

The Irish answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, but Estimé fumbled lunging for the goal line and the ball was recovered by the Tar Heels for a touchback. North Carolina was able to tack on a touchdown and failed on a two-point conversion to make the final score 45-32. 

UP NEXT

The Irish are off next weekend with a bye week. Notre Dame will return to the gridiron October 8th in Las Vegas, hosting the BYU Cougars at 7:30 p.m. in the annual Shamrock Series game.