Road Worriers: Is Notre Dame for Real?

by John Vannie

(NDNation.com) - Notre Dame takes to the road for only the second time this season by paying a rare visit to the University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels are also 4-1 under second year coach Butch Davis, and are coming off impressive victories over Miami of Florida and Connecticut, which propelled them into a No. 22 national ranking.

The Irish are hoping for a better showing than the last time they ventured out of South Bend, a 23-7 drubbing at the hands of Michigan State.

The matchup is attractive in that both teams are significantly improved from last season. Carolina was 4-8 in the first year of Davis’ rebuilding program, and Notre Dame’s struggles in 2007 do not need to be discussed again in this column. The winner will achieve Cinderella status and become a player in the New Year’s Day bowl sweepstakes. The loser will have to reset such expectations and wait until next year.

The Tar Heels have been an aggressive and opportunistic team this season. Although outgained by UConn last week, they blocked three punts and recorded three interceptions to deflate the Huskies. Although its offensive and defensive statistics are largely mediocre, Carolina leads the nation in pass interceptions and its special teams feature very productive return men. In short, they force opponents into mistakes and capitalize on them.

Notre Dame will attempt to continue its error-free ways of the previous two weeks. If the Irish do not suffer a turnover and commit a special teams gaffe, they have the talent to win. The game represents an important barometer for how much the team has progressed since mid-September. A victory would go a long way to silence critics who claim that the main reason for Notre Dame’s early success this season is a very forgiving schedule.

Notre Dame’s Offense against North Carolina’s Defense

The key once again for the Irish is the running game. Although Jimmy Clausen has been sensational of late, he cannot afford to put the ball in the air 40 times against the Tar Heel secondary. Safety Trimane Goddard is the chief ball hawk with four interceptions, but the entire back-seven plays excellent team defense against the pass. The rest of the secondary is quick but small, and Irish receivers such as Michael Floyd could have a productive day.

Each of the three starting linebackers has at least one interception, and all are fast and athletic. Mark Paschal and Quan Sturdivant lead the team in tackles with 41 each. Carolina is also big up front with Marvin Austin and Cam Thomas representing 630 pounds at tackle and pass rusher E.J. Wilson coming off the edge.

Surprisingly, the group has only six sacks on the season and has allowed nearly 150 rushing yards per game. Another quality defensive lineman, Darrius Massenburg, is coming off a knee injury and may be ready to play this week.

Notre Dame is fortunate in that tackle Mike Turkovich and guard Eric Olson are ready to play despite suffering leg injuries against Stanford. Armando Allen has also been banged up, but he is expected to carry the load at tailback. His emergence as a threat in the passing game last week has made the Irish even more difficult to defend.

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