10 North Carolina is 10th nationally in scoring average at 43.1 points per game, notably 48.0 in the last six contests, although two of them were losses to Florida State (31-28) and Virginia (44-41). It has scored a minimum of four touchdowns in each of the last six contests.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame is averaging 37.6 points per game — tied with the school record set in 1968. The Fighting Irish will be facing a unit ranked 69th in scoring defense (30.8), notably a non-overtime 59-53 win versus Wake Forest on Nov. 14 prior to a Nov. 21 bye.
9 With a win at North Carolina, No. 2-ranked Notre Dame would start 9-0 for the ninth time since 1950. The others were 1964, 1970, 1973, 1988, 1989, 1993, 2012 and 2018.
In each of those years, the final game for the Fighting Irish (regular season or postseason) had national title implications, including the semifinal of the 2018 playoff that would have advanced it to the title game. The current No. 2 ranking is the highest for the Fighting Irish since reaching No. 1 in November 2012 before losing on Jan. 7, 2013.
8 Consecutive road victories against Atlantic Coast Conference foes Notre Dame has recorded during the regular season, including the 2018 Shamrock Series versus then No. 12 Syracuse (36-3) in Yankee Stadium.
Particularly amazing is those victories have been by an average of 26 points, with the closest a 45-31 win at Boston College on Nov. 14 in the most recent outing.
7 Consecutive games played by quarterback Ian Book without throwing an interception, dating back to the opener versus Duke. His current streak of 195 straight passes without tossing a pick are second most in school history, behind Brady Quinn’s 226 in 2006.
It also is the third best currently in the nation this year, behind Western Kentucky’s Tyrrell Pigrome (237) and Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman (234). Book has played the best football of his career this month as a passer and runner, where he has totaled 152 yards on the ground the past two games against Clemson (67) and BC (85).
6 Touchdown passes tossed by North Carolina sophomore quarterback Sam Howell in the 59-53 win versus Wake Forest on Nov. 14 while accumulating 550 yards through the air. Projected as a future first-round pick, and the best quarterback Notre Dame will have played this regular season per head coach Brian Kelly, Howell is ninth nationally in passing efficiency (a spot ahead of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence) and fourth in passing yardage with 2,631 (328.8 yards per game).
5 Career starts for Notre Dame senior right guard Josh Lugg, who will be replacing right guard Tommy Kraemer after the latter underwent an emergency appendectomy last week.
Making his first career start will be sophomore center Zeke Correll after season-ending foot surgery on Jarrett Patterson following the Nov. 14 win at Boston College.
4 Ranking of Notre Dame in rushing yards allowed per game with an 85.1 figure, which is on pace to be the best at the school since the 1973 national champs permitted 82.4 (excluding the bowl game back then).
This figure will be challenged by the Tar Heels, who possess the ACC’s No. 1- and No. 5-ranked rushers in Javonte Williams (108.5 yards per game) and Michael Carter (100.9). Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams is at No. 4 (101.9).
3 Notre Dame’s current 14-game winning streak — the longest in the nation — is the third-longest at the program in the 70 years since 1950. It is surpassed only by the school-record 23 in 1988-89 and 17 in 1992-93.
Three more wins for an 11-0 finish to the regular season would tie the 1992-93 streak for second place since 1950.
2 Victories by North Carolina in 20 tries against Notre Dame in a series that dates back to 1949. The 18-2 mark and .900 winning percentage against the Tar Heels is the best by the Fighting Irish against any school that it has faced a minimum of 20 times.
The most recent meeting was a 33-10 Notre Dame victory at Chapel Hill on Oct. 7, 2017 in the rain. It was Book’s first career start while replacing an injured Brandon Wimbush. The starter for North Carolina was freshman Chazz Surratt (19 of 42 for 179 yards, one touchdown, one interception, plus 32 yards rushing) — who is now the standout linebacker and leading tackler for the team.
1 Win in Kenan Memorial Stadium by North Carolina in 17 tries versus a team ranked in the AP top 5. That came against No. 4 Miami in 2004 (31-28).
Meanwhile against the AP top 3, the Tar Heels are reportedly 0-27 overall.
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