Notre Dame Football: Everything Irish Fans Need to Know About North Carolina

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Nestled quietly between marquee matchups with Stanford and Florida State rests a potential trap game for Notre Dame football with North Carolina on Saturday.

The Tar Heels began the season ranked 23rd in the AP poll but are currently toiling through a three-game losing streak. Losses to Virginia Tech, Clemson and East Carolina have followed wins against Liberty and San Diego State to start the season.

So what should Irish fans expect from head coach Larry Fedora’s squad Saturday?

Struggling Defense

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There could be points aplenty Saturday, at least with Notre Dame’s offense squaring off with North Carolina’s porous defense. The Tar Heels surrendered 34 points to Virginia Tech on Saturday after allowing 50 to Clemson and 70—yes, 70—to East Carolina. The rankings aren’t pretty.

Category	Statistic	Ranking (of 128 teams)
Total Defense	505.8 yards per game	120th
Scoring Defense	42.0 points per game	124th
Pass Defense	319.6 yards per game	124th
Run Defense	186.2 yards per game	93rd

As Andrew Carter writes in The News & Observer, Fedora has reiterated the importance of “small things” and “details.” Most notably, the Tar Heels secondary has had a propensity for allowing big plays. Against East Carolina, for instance, North Carolina surrendered eight passing plays of at least 20 yards.

One key area to watch, though, is turnovers. North Carolina has still managed to coax 12 turnovers this season, and Irish quarterback Everett Golson himself has committed six giveaways in the past two games alone. Expect Notre Dame to put quite a few points on the board Saturday, but only if Golson and the Irish take care of the ball.

Offensive Duality

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The Tar Heel offense has been somewhat enigmatic of late. The same team that tallied 41 points against East Carolina and 35 more against Clemson notched just 17 against Virginia Tech.

“I'd love to tell you that Virginia Tech is a great defense and did something spectacular, but it was whatever we could do wrong, whatever could go wrong for us offensively, went wrong the entire first half,” Fedora said to reporters following Saturday’s game.

Three turnovers (and two other fumbles the Tar Heel offense recovered) proved costly.

There’s enough talent on the North Carolina offense. Quarterback Marquise Williams is one of just nine players in the country leading his squad in both passing and rushing yards. Wide receivers Quinshad Davis and Ryan Switzer boast big-play ability. But for some reason, the offense hasn’t found a groove of late.

Fedora and the Tar Heels have remained steadfast in getting backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky work throughout the games. Trubisky has come on for Williams on one of the first few drives in each game so far this season.

According to Powell Latimer of the Greensboro News & Record, Fedora said he doesn’t believe the quarterback shuffle has been the primary problem with the offense.

Assuming Notre Dame’s offense has no trouble scoring on the Tar Heels, North Carolina’s offense will need to develop quickly to keep pace with the Irish. That being said, it’s difficult to see North Carolina all of a sudden playing crisply enough to conquer Irish defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder’s aggressive, multiple looks.

Expect VanGorder to bring pressure for Williams in a similar way that he dialed up constant blitzes for Syracuse quarterback Terrel Hunt and, to a lesser degree, Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan.

Elijah Hood Returns to South Bend

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Simmering quietly on the back burner is the story of North Carolina freshman running back Elijah Hood, a one-time Notre Dame commitment who reneged on his verbal to the Irish and stuck with his home-state Tar Heels.

As Brooke Pryor of Carolina Blue notes, Hood will be a part of his first game-day experience in South Bend.

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Hood, who was ranked the No. 8 running back and No. 47 overall player in the class of 2014 according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings, has been part of a crowded backfield in Chapel Hill. Outside of Williams, Hood has the most carries (39) and yards (166) on the squad. His marquee showing was a 13-carry, 71-yard, one-touchdown performance against Clemson.

Needless to say, the Tar Heels must find a way to do what Stanford couldn’t—rush the ball successfully against the Irish. With balance on offense, North Carolina can better set up Williams to find passing lanes to get the ball to the likes of Davis and Switzer. And, of course, the Tar Heels must keep the defense fresher by stabilizing the time of possession. Virginia Tech held the ball for 41 minutes, three seconds on Saturday.

That won’t be a winning formula against the Irish.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.