Ian Book, No. 2 Notre Dame Remain Undefeated with Win vs. No. 19 North Carolina

No. 2 Notre Dame stayed undefeated with a 31-17 road victory over No. 19 North Carolina on Friday at Kenan Stadium.

Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams amassed 144 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, who outscored UNC 14-0 in the second half. The Fighting Irish also outgained the Tar Heels 478-298 in yards.

The two teams each scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter and added field goals in the second, but the final 30 minutes belonged to Notre Dame, who shut out UNC after halftime.

Wideout Ben Skowronek capped a 13-play, 97-yard touchdown drive with a 13-yard run to put Notre Dame up 23-17 in the third, and Williams finished an eight-play, 89-yard effort with a one-yard rush late in the fourth.

The Fighting Irish improved to 9-0, and UNC fell to 6-3.

Notable Performances

UNC QB Sam Howell: 17-of-27, 211 passing yards, 1 TD; 11 carries, 2 rushing yards, 1 TD

UNC RB Michael Carter: 8 carries, 57 rushing yards; 1 catch, 23 receiving yards

UNC WR Dyami Brown: 4 catches, 84 receiving yards

Notre Dame QB Ian Book: 23-of-33, 279 passing yards, 1 TD; 8 carries, 48 rushing yards

Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams: 23 carries, 124 rushing yards, 2 TD; 4 catches, 20 receiving yards, 1 TD

Notre Dame WR Javon McKinley: 6 catches, 135 receiving yards

Book Racks Up Another Win in Standout Performance

Ian Book didn't post glamorous stats Friday, completing 23-of-33 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown while adding 48 rushing yards.

But the stat line doesn't tell the story of how well Book played en route to leading the Fighting Irish to win No. 9.

Book worked his magic on multiple occasions. Somehow, he evaded the UNC rush and found Williams for a touchdown to help tie the game at 14:

The scorebook calls this next one an 11-yard completion on 3rd-and-6 to Michael Mayer, but it was a little more complicated than that:

Book got a little creative, but he never turned the ball over. As such, his pass streak without an interception continued, to the point where he broke a school record:

Book simply got the job done, perhaps no more than when he led his team on a 97-yard, game-winning touchdown drives in the second half. The first drive featured a few clutch plays, including a 21-yard toss to Skowronek on 2nd-and-10 and a 15-yard pass to Mayer on 3rd-and-10. Skowronek finished it off with a 13-yard run:

Williams and the defense took care of the rest in the two-score win.

After the game, UNC head coach Mack Brown offered a strong compliment.

"Ian Book was as good tonight as anyone I've ever seen," Brown said, per Carter Karels of the South Bend Tribune. "We couldn't tackle him."

Most importantly, Book simply knows how to win games. He's 29-3 during his Notre Dame career and set a victory mark alongside head coach Brian Kelly:

Book will look to add a few more before the regular season ends with Notre Dame having two more contests before the postseason.

UNC Offense Has No Answer for Notre Dame Defense in 2nd Half

Two screenshots from Irish Sports Daily and College Football Geek are all that is needed to tell the story of UNC's second-half offensive performance:

Despite losing standout safety Kyle Hamilton before halftime for targeting, the Fighting Irish defense shut UNC out in the final 30 minutes.

A few players stood out, namely defensive lineman Adetokunbo Ogundeji (two sacks), linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (nine tackles) and linebacker Drew White (five tackles, a pair of tackles for a loss).

But credit also goes to defensive coordinator Clark Lea, who guided the fantastic Fighting Irish performance.

"UNC came into the game averaging 607 yards in its previous six games," Bruce Feldman of The Athletic wrote.

"Notre Dame held the Heels to just 298 and just 78 in the second half. Amazing job by DC Clark Lea especially after losing standout DB Kyle Hamilton in the 2nd Qtr for targeting."

Pete Sampson of The Athletic brought a big-picture point of view about a defense that forced five punts and one turnover on downs in the second half:

"Notre Dame held North Carolina to a season-low 298 yards, in addition to the second-half shutout. Those are shocking results for a defense that played the second half without its best player. By the end, UNC quarterback Sam Howell had been punished to the point that the Tar Heels were a shell of their offensive selves. At a time when even Nick Saban believes defenses don't win championships, Notre Dame sure looks like it can push back on that notion. The Irish did on Friday."

Alex Kirshner of the Split Zone and Moon Crew even shouted out Lea as a candidate for the Broyles Award, given to college football's best assistant coach.

That's hard to argue after Friday.

Notre Dame should be a heavy favorite in its final two games, and a berth in the ACC title game against (likely) Clemson seems all but certain. At this juncture, Notre Dame is a clear national title contender, and Lea's defense deserves much of that credit.

What's Next?

Both teams will play at home Saturday, December 5: Notre Dame will host Syracuse, and UNC will welcome Western Carolina.