Irish Top Tar Heels: Defense Stellar in Last Test of the Regular Season
Leading up to the game on Friday afternoon, everyone was talking about how great the North Carolina offense was. Rightfully so – they were putting up monster numbers behind their playmaking quarterback Sam Howell. This would be the second-best offense the Irish defense would face all season, behind Clemson, and the last true test for the Fighting Irish before a potential rematch with Clemson in 3 weeks at the ACC Championship game.
The high-powered North Carolina offense was on full display in the first quarter, putting up two quick touchdowns. Notre Dame matched both of those scores to tie things up after one, and it looked like the Irish were going to be in a shoot-out all afternoon. The score at half was tied at 17, and as far as offense…only the Irish would score in the second half. The Irish defense was outstanding after getting its feet under them after the first quarter. The defense got after Howell all night, notching 6 sacks. But those 6 sacks weren’t the only high point for the Irish D, as they held the Tar Heels dominant running game to under 100 yards rushing.
The Notre Dame defense might have stolen the spotlight Friday, but that doesn’t mean the Irish offense was something to ignore. Ian Book continued to show the nation that he should be in the Heisman talks. Book led the offense to put up 478 yards of total offense and dominated time possession. The rushing attack got back on track, running for 199 yards as a team; even Ben Skowronek got in on the rushing, scoring on a 13-yard end around. Notre Dame (9-0) gets out of Chapel Hill undefeated and in a prime spot in the College Football Playoff rankings with a 31-17 win over North Carolina (6-3).
The Irish played a great game on both sides of the ball, here are my 4 Irish players of the game:
- Kyren Williams – It is almost like Williams reads the blogs. I had talked about how I was expecting the sophomore running back to have a bounce-back game in the game preview blog. A bounce-back game would be an understatement, as Williams reminded us on Friday why he is considered one of, if not the best, running back in the ACC. Williams had a total of 124 yards rushing, 20 receiving with 3 total touchdowns.
- Marist Liufau – This is the game that I was personally waiting for all year from Lifau. The sophomore linebacker from Hawaii was all over the field, making play after play for the Irish defense. Liufau had 5 total tackles, with a 1/2 a sack as well as 1/2 a tackle for loss on Friday. Looking for Liufau to keep the ball rolling in the last two games of the year.
- Ian Book – The senior captain gets better week after week. Book was in control the whole game, even with the loss of two of his top linemen for this week’s game. Book tossed for 279 yards and also added 48 yards on the ground. The Irish quarterback made a lot of big plays on Friday, but none bigger than the 4-yard touchdown pass to Williams and a 3rd down pass to Michael Mayer. The touchdown pass came after a low snap where Book had to run for his life, luckily finding Williams who knew to get open on the broken play. The 3rd down pass to Mayer may have been the play of the night. Book was scrambling on a 3rd and 6 play in the 4th and when it looked like all hope was lost, Book flipped it to Mayer for the first down. There are a lot of reasons the Irish are undefeated, Book’s playing is at the top of the list.
- Drew White – I picked White in my game preview blog to have a big game vs North Carolina and just like Williams, he did just that. If the Irish were going to have a shot at winning, its linebackers were going to have to stop the run. White was a big reason that the Irish held the powerful North Carolina running attack to under 100 yards. White had 5 total tackles, 1/2 a sack and 2 tackles for loss on Friday. Brian Kelly gave White the game ball after the game.
This game vs North Carolina on the road was the second biggest game of the year after Clemson. The Irish proved on Friday that they are one of the best teams in the nation. They took the Tar Heels’ best punch in the first quarter and never looked back. The Tar Heels have one of the best offenses in the ACC, if not the country, and the Irish defense shut them out in the second half. On the flip side, the Notre Dame defense is one of the best in the country and that was on display in Chapel Hill. As long as the Irish don’t look too far ahead and take care of business the next two games, we will all get the rematch we want in the ACC Championship game.
It also looks like I wasn’t the only one impressed with Kryen Williams on Friday: