One That Got Away: Notre Dame Blows Early Lead

(NDNation.com by John Vannie)

North Carolina came from behind with a dominant second half to defeat Notre Dame 29-24 on Saturday in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels once trailed 17-6, but they turned up the defensive intensity and forced four second-half turnovers on their way to a hard-fought victory.

The final Irish possession ended deep inside Carolina territory when Michael Floyd caught a pass and fumbled the ball away as he was tackled with two seconds to play.

The game was an entertaining exchange of counterpunches and featured several changes in momentum.

The day began well for the visitors, however, as they scored on three of four first-half possessions.

Jimmy Clausen threw a perfect 19-yard sideline strike to Golden Tate to open the scoring and tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Michael Floyd with under a minute left in the half.

Brandon Walker also connected on his only field goal try of the day, a 42-yard effort early in the second period.

Meanwhile, North Carolina moved the ball well and stayed in the game despite the fact that they could not find the end zone.

In a key sequence after Floyd’s catch extended the Irish lead to 17-6, Cam Sexton moved the Tar Heels down the field quickly with passes to Hakeem Nicks.

By covering more than 40 yards in the final 45 seconds of the half, Carolina was able to set up a third Casey Barth field goal with nine seconds left.

Notre Dame fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Barth tried again from 53 yards, but came up just short.

Still, the half ended on a sour note for the Irish, and the Tar Heels were within one score despite Clausen’s impressive passing numbers.

Things changed in a hurry after intermission. Linebacker Quan Sturdivant stepped in front of Clausen’s first pass of the third quarter and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown to pull the hosts within 17-16.

Notre Dame was ready to surrender the ball on the next series after a three-and-out, but the Tar Heels roughed up punter Eric Maust to give the Irish 15 yards and a first down.

Clausen took advantage of the second chance and eventually hit Duval Kamara on a key third-down pass inside the Carolina 10.

James Aldridge finished the drive by plowing into the end zone from two yards out. Notre Dame led 24-16, but there were still nearly 11 minutes left in the third period.

The game turned toward the Tar Heels on the ensuing possession. Sexton hit Nicks on third-and-five to keep the chains moving but was sacked by Patrick Kuntz on the next series.

Facing third-and-18, everyone knew Sexton would be looking for Nicks again since star receiver and return man Brandon Tate left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury.

Nicks still managed to get open against the inexplicably soft Irish secondary, and he got just enough yardage to make the first down near midfield.

Carolina seized the opportunity and marched quickly into the end zone with an effective array of runs and passes. Although the failed two-point conversion left them down by 24-22, the Heels clearly had the momentum.

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