The Fighting Irish 4-1-1 – North Carolina

Four elements that defined Notre Dame’s first road win of the 2022 campaign; 1 unique stat, 1 thing to pivot forward

By John Brice
Special Contributor

Balance.

As Notre Dame seized command on the road Saturday at North Carolina, the Fighting Irish offense generated symmetrical balance – its first 24 snaps with Drew Pyne making his second-straight start at quarterback featured a dozen running plays and a dozen passes – and the defense produced its first takeaway of the season.

Now, with an even 2-2 slate, the Fighting Irish head into their lone open date with much-needed momentum and another step forward in establishing their identity on both sides of the ball.

In an item we’ll bring you after each Notre Dame contest, here’s the 4-1-1 on Notre Dame’s overall dominant performance in a 45-32 victory at North Carolina that, frankly, wasn’t as close as the two-touchdown final margin might otherwise indicate.

FOUR ELEMENTS THAT DEFINED THE FIGHTING IRISH’S FIRST ROAD WIN OF THE MARCUS FREEMAN ERA

1. Picking up where it left off in the second half a week ago in a come-from-behind win against visiting California, Notre Dame’s offense chewed through the Tar Heels’ porous defense for 576 yards – the program’s most since it amassed 568 yards against Syracuse Dec. 5, 2020. The offense saw Pyne pass for 289 yards while five different ball-carriers helped the ground game tally 287 yards.
2. DROUGHT OVER: After seeing a pair of takeaways nullified in bizarre fashion late in last week’s win against the Golden Bears, the Fighting Irish generated their first takeaway of the 2022 campaign. With barely more than 12 minutes left in the third quarter, Notre Dame senior defensive lineman Justin Ademilola gobbled up Drake Maye’s fumble as the defense once again harassed the UNC signal-caller. It was a key moment in Notre Dame’s defensive output that generated seven tackles for losses, including three quarterback sacks.
3. SPREAD THE WEALTH: Making his second career start and showing much more command of the offense from the second quarter onward, Drew Pyne riddled the Tar Heel defense as he completed passes to seven different receivers – with connections of 13 or more yards to a whopping five different players. Tailback Logan Diggs had a 34-yard reception on a key play in the first half as Notre Dame seized control of the game, and Lorenzo Styles added a 30-yard catch.
4. SIX: The Notre Dame offense scored on six-straight offensive possessions in a ruthlessly efficient period that spanned the second and third quarters. And during that time, the Irish got five touchdowns and a field goal. Moreover, four different Notre Dame players accounted for those scores – Michael Mayer, Lorenzo Styles, Logan Diggs and Audric Estimè twice – while Blake Grupe added an 40-yard field.

ONE THING TO NOTE

Notre Dame absolutely dominated time of possession, particularly across the final three quarters of this victory. In fact, the Irish offense possessed the ball for more than 32 of 45 minutes after the opening frame. Notre Dame utilized its 9 minutes, 39 seconds of second-quarter possession to outscore the host Heels in a 24-7 blitzkrieg.

ONE THING PIVOTING FORWARD

Deep breaths, panic averted.

There were, rather understandably, considerable gnashing of teeth when the Irish tumbled to an 0-2 start – despite a valiant effort in an opening loss at powerhouse, consensus top-3 Ohio State.

Then, Tyler Buchner got injured and was lost for the season late in the stunning loss to Marshall.

Still, and this is a critical element of Freeman’s top-down leadership, Notre Dame did not panic.

In fact, the Fighting Irish now technically own back-to-back come-from-behind wins for their first two wins of the Freeman era.

Additionally, Notre Dame is seeing an offensive identity begin to form; the blended running of Chris Tyree, Logan Diggs and Audric Estimè is a potential three-headed monster that can supply Tommy Rees’ offense with three almost entirely different skill-sets from the backfield.

“I try to tell the team all the time, when things go bad it’s bad play-calling,” Freeman said postgame. “When things go well, it’s great play-calling. I believe in the game Tommy Rees has called from Ohio State to Marshall to now.

“I think Coach Rees called an unbelievable game.”