Notre Dame-North Carolina: Tar Heels Trip Up Irish 29-24

Jimmy Clausen threw for a career high in yards (383) for the third consecutive week, but the number that had the biggest impact on the game was five. That is the number of turnovers the Irish had on Saturday in Chapel Hill, NC as the Irish fell victims to the North Carolina Tar Heels for the first time in 48 years.

It was a tale of two halves. The Irish looked like a 4-1 team in the first half jumping out to a 17-9 halftime lead, only for turnovers to doom them in the second half. The Tar Heels scored 21 of the final 28 points to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit and win by five.

The Irish offensive line gave Clausen tremendous pass protection as he finished the day 31-48 and threw two touchdowns. Clausen was only sacked once and distributed the ball well as he found seven different receivers. Clausen's two touchdown passes came in the first half and gave the Irish a 17-9 halftime lead.

Coming out of the half, the Irish had all of the momentum—but on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Quan Sturdivant intercepted a Clausen pass and returned it 32 yards to make it a 17-16 game. Two possessions later, the Irish had the ball on the North Carolina 46 with the score 24-16.

With the score 24-22, Clausen was sacked for a seven-yard loss and the ball came loose and was recovered by the Heels. Seven plays later the Heels scored on a QB sneak by Cameron Sexton from four yards out to make it 29-24 UNC.

The Irish had a chance to win the game with a 3rd-and-13 on the North Carolina 33 and 21 seconds remaining when Clausen found Michael Floyd for a 26-yard gain down to the UNC 7. With time winding down, Floyd looked like he attempted to lateral the ball but Trimane Goddard recovered the fumble, allowing North Carolina to kneel down and close out the victory.