NC State Beats Notre Dame, 10-3
FIRST QUARTER: NC State 3, Notre Dame 0
Top moment: NC State kicker Kyle Bambard hit a 38-yard field goal with 1:20 left in the first quarter, drilling the ball through the wind and sneaking the ball over the upright.
Stats: Notre Dame junior quarterback DeShone Kizer completed three of his four passes for nine yards in the opening period. Sophomore running back Josh Adams tallied 14 yards on four carries. NC State had success running the ball in the opening quarter, going for 58 yards on 11 carries. The Irish struggled to tackle early on, highlighted by a key miss by junior safety Drue Tranquill.
Items: Notre Dame elected to receive the opening kickoff in an effort to control the wind in the second half. NC State tallied six first downs, while Notre Dame had just one.
FIRST QUARTER: NC State 3, Notre Dame 0
Top moment: Facing a third-and-goal from the 19-yard-line, Kizer was intercepted by Jarius Morehead at the goal line. It ended Notre Dame’s best scoring threat.
Stats: Kizer was 6-for-14 passing for 38 yards in the first half and was sacked once. The Irish had 48 total yards in the first half (38 passing, 10 rushing). That’s including a 19-yard loss after an errant Sam Mustipher snap went over Kizer’s head. NC State’s offense tallied 122 yards on 32 plays, including 95 yards rushing on 23 carries. Running back Matthew Dayes had 84 yards rushing.
Items: NC State held Notre Dame scoreless in the first half. The last time the Irish were shut out in a half was the first half against Alabama in the national championship game. The second half was delayed due to lightning. Notre Dame and NC State returned to the field at 2:20 and resumed play shortly after.
THIRD QUARTER: NC State 3, Notre Dame 3
Top moment: Notre Dame sophomore kicker Justin Yoon hit a 40-yard field goal with 11:04 left in the third quarter tied the score at 3-3.
Stats: The Irish had -3 yards of offense in the third quarter, but added a field goal to tie the game at 3-3. The Irish offense was stagnant. Through three quarters, Kizer was 6 for 19 passing for 38 yards. He was sacked four times. State’s Dayes had 96 rushing yards through three quarters. Both teams were terrible on third down — the Irish just 1 of 11 and the Wolfpack 2 of 11.
Items: NC State found success with backup quarterback Jalan McClendon in a run-first package in the third quarter. The Wolfpack drove all the way to the Notre Dame 2-yard line, but a fumble and a botched field goal attempt negated a prime scoring chance.
FOURTH QUARTER:
Top moment: With 12:38 left in the game, Notre Dame’s Tyler Newsome had his punt blocked by NC State’s P McKever. The block was recovered by Dexter St. Wright and returned for a touchdown, which gave NC State a 10-3 lead.
Stats: Notre Dame finished with 113 total yards -- 59 rushing, 54 passing. Kizer completed 9 of 26 passes. Adams ran 14 times for 51 yards. Kizer carried 15 times for 15 yards. NC State had 202 yards.
Items: Facing a fourth-and-eight with about 2 minutes left from the NC State 16-yard-line, Sam Mustipher's snap got by Kizer and the Irish turned the ball over on downs. It snapped an 18-play, 60-yard drive. Notre Dame converted two fourth down attempts on the drive. The Irish fall to 2-4 overall and host Stanford next week.