On Oct. 11, 2014, the 5-0 and No. 6-ranked Fighting Irish defeated North Carolina 50-43 in what was the highest-scoring game ever at Notre Dame Stadium — and the most points tallied between Notre Dame and the opponent in regulation time (or at least in the last 100 years).
From a four-quarter regulation time perspective that still remains true. Texas won 50-47 at home versus the Irish in the 2016 opener, but that was with two overtime sessions included.
Entering that tilt against the Tar Heels six years ago, Notre Dame first-year defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was lauded for helping take the unit to “the next level,” having allowed only 12 points per game in those first five outings, highlighted by a 31-0 shutout of Michigan and a 17-14 victory versus No. 14 and new nemesis Stanford the week prior to facing the Tar Heels.
However, an up-tempo, no-huddle offense by North Carolina began to expose the cracks in VanGorder’s highly complex defensive foundation. The opposition started to use that blueprint, and it resulted in a tumultuous time and VanGorder’s firing four games into the 2016 campaign after a 1-3 start.
The 2020 version of 6-2 and No. 25-ranked North Carolina’s offense is even stronger than the 2014 outfit that was 6-7 — but fortunately so is Notre Dame’s 2020 defense that has hovered among the top 10 all year in several major categories. Most notably the Fighting Irish are No. 4 against the run at 85.1 yards per game while helping the team achieve a No. 2 national ranking with an 8-0 record and potential College Football Playoff berth for the second time in three years.
In their six contests from Oct. 10 through Nov. 14, the Tar Heels averaged 48.0 points per game with one of the most prolific offenses in the country. This included a 56-45 shootout victory versus Virginia Tech and most recently on Nov. 7 a 59-53 defense-is-a-rumor win over Wake Forest after trailing by 21 points — but also a 44-41 defeat at Virginia.
Just how potent is the attack?
Senior running back Michael Carter rushed for 807 yards at 7.0 yards per carry during the Tar Heels’ 6-2 start after a 1,000-yard output last season — and he is merely the second-best back in the arsenal behind Javonte Williams, who has amassed 868 yards on the ground at 7.2 yards per rush and 15 touchdowns.
Meanwhile, sophomore quarterback Sam Howell is already projected as a future first-round selection, just as Clemson freshman D.J. Uiagalelei has been.
Through eight games, North Carolina was averaging 563.4 yards of total offense, which ranks fourth nationally.
Moreover, it is in the extremely rare air of averaging more than 300 passing yards (329.9) and more than 200 rushing yards (233.5, which happens to be the exact same figure as Notre Dame's). Among 65 Power Five conference teams, they join Ohio State and Ole Miss as the only ones in that 300-200 category.
Overall among 127 teams listed, the Tar Heels are 10th in scoring with a 43.1 figure.
Similar to then No. 1-ranked Clemson’s visit to Notre Dame on Nov. 7, this is not an issue of whether North Carolina is capable of scoring. It’s more about limiting the Tar Heels to field goals rather than touchdowns. The Fighting Irish defense forced Clemson to kick four field goals, including a couple in the red zone, that helped keep them in striking distance and to send the game into overtime at 33-33.
Under third-year Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea, it marked only the second time in 33 games that the opponent surpassed the 30-point barrier against the stout and fundamentally sound Fighting Irish defense.
A week later, Boston College also eclipsed the 30-point benchmark with a window- dressing touchdown late in the 45-31 Irish win in which Notre Dame was more in control than the final score would indicate.
We have said it dozens of times: Defense in today’s world of college football is not about dominance, but damage control. Keeping North Carolina to less than 30 points would qualify as a quality performance, and a highly probable shot at winning the game.
The flip side is Notre Dame’s current scoring average of 37.6 is tied with the school record set in 1968, and it is well on pace to break it with upcoming games against defensive-famished North Carolina, 1-8 Syracuse and Wake Forest.
The victories against Clemson and Boston College marked the first time since head coach Lou Holtz’s final season in 1996 that the Irish scored at least 45 points in back-to-back contests (when it had four in a row). Achieving at least 45 points again at North Carolina would be the only second time since the start of the Jesse Harper era in 1913 that the program would accomplish it in three straight outings.
Given the rhythm fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book and the Irish offense have found, combined with North Carolina’s defensive maladies both up front and with a decimated secondary, it is a feasible endeavor.
The scoring gap between the offenses of North Carolina (43.1 points per game) and Notre Dame (37.6) isn’t as striking as the scoring defense between the Tar Heels (30.8) and Fighting Irish (16.6).
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