Players to Watch: Notre Dame vs. North Carolina

A winning streak is on the line.

Dating back to 2017, Notre Dame (1-2) has won 24 of its last 24 ACC regular-season games. Three of those wins have come against ND's opponent this Saturday, North Carolina (3-0), to improve the all-time lead for the Irish against the Tar Heels to 20-2.

Although UNC has the better record in 2022 and home-field advantage, this game is basically a pick 'em. According to the Vegas Insider consensus, ND is a 2-point underdog heading into the matchup at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

Here are the players to watch:

During Drew Pyne’s first career start, Styles tied all players and led Notre Dame wide receivers in targets (five), which has also been representative of his team stats. Through three games, Styles leads Irish wide receivers with 11 catches for 152 yards (13.8 yards per catch). And Saturday presents an outstanding opportunity to improve those marks.

In three games, North Carolina’s defense has given up 275.3 passing yards per game — a mark that ranks 112th of 131 teams this season. Its pass-efficiency defense is even worse, ranking 126th of 131 teams, and dead last among Power 5 schools. The Tar Heels have played the following three opponents: Florida A&M, Appalachian State and Georgia State.

Styles should see plenty of Storm Duck and Tony Grimes, who have surrendered 24 receptions and 295 receiving yards between them in 2022. Grimes presents the most favorable matchup, allowing receptions (19) on 76.0% of his targets (25) and a team-high four touchdowns. Styles can also excel after the catch against Grimes, who has missed three tackles — tied for most on the team.

Last season against North Carolina, Styles finished with his best yards-per-catch game of his freshman season, averaging 24.7 yards on his three receptions. He also had the longest reception (40 yards) of his first college season. Look for Styles to find his stride this week and be the focal point of the Notre Dame offense.

To start his junior season, Gray has been one of the team’s best all-around defenders. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior leads the team in total tackles (33), solo tackles (tied at 19) and run stops (14). He is also one of two players with an interception.

After registering 14 tackles against Georgia State, Gray was named ACC Linebacker of the Week for the second time in his career. He recorded two tackles for loss in that same game.

Notre Dame’s backfield presents North Carolina’s most challenging matchup this season to date. Last week against California, Irish running backs Audric Estime and Chris Tyree combined for 76.4% of the team’s total offensive yardage. In addition to rushing for a combined 140 yards, Tyree and Estime led ND in receiving yards with 44 and 43 yards, respectively.

In last year’s matchup with the Tar Heels, the Irish rushed for 293 yards, with NFL Draft pick Kyren Williams racking up 199 of them. Logan Diggs received a career-high 11 carries, totaling 42 yards (3.8 yards per carry) and a touchdown. After being held out last Saturday against Cal with an illness, Diggs is expected to be fully available this Saturday.

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One of the best wide receivers in North Carolina history, Downs will be back in the lineup this week after missing the previous two games.

With first-team All-ACC and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist honors as a sophomore, Downs’ résumé speaks for itself. In his junior season debut, he picked up where he left off last season with nine receptions for 78 yards (8.7 yards per catch) and two touchdowns — despite being paired with a new starting quarterback in Drake Maye.

Against Notre Dame last season, Downs torched the Irish defense for 10 receptions and 142 yards (14.2 yards per catch). Meanwhile, Irish cornerbacks performed poorly altogether by giving up a combined 214 of Sam Howell’s 341 passing yards.

Notre Dame’s pass defense has played steadily so far this season, with a team pass defense that is 34th in yards allowed (184.0) in the FBS. Even without Downs for two games, Maye is tied with Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and two others for the nation's lead in touchdown passes (11) and is 11th in passing yards per game (310.0) this season.

In 2021, Downs set program records for receiving yards (1,335) and receptions (101). He was just the fourth player in ACC history to amass 100 or more receptions. Notre Dame must keep Downs and Maye in check to keep the Tar Heels from lighting up the scoreboard.

So far this season, Cross has been one of the best storylines and run defenders for Notre Dame.

The 6-1, 270-pound defensive tackle leads the Irish in tackles (21) and run stops (7) through three games. In Notre Dame’s worst rush defense performance of the season — when Marshall backup running back Khalan Laborn had 163 yards — Cross led the team with 11 tackles.

North Carolina freshman running back Omarion Hampton is Cross’s next test, and he is not an easy one. In his first collegiate season, Hampton has 228 rushing yards and five touchdowns. His 6.0 yards per carry ranks third in the ACC and 38th nationally.

Cross will also look to get by a North Carolina offensive line that has given up 2.0 sacks per game. After going sackless the last two games, Cross has to bring down a highly effective Maye. Against California last Saturday, Cross had a season-high two quarterback hurries.

Editor's note: Run stops, quarterback hurries and individual defensive back statistics were compiled from Pro Football Focus.

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