There will always be naysayers but after a comfortable 31-17 win over North Carolina, it's hard to argue that Notre Dame is undeserving of its consensus No. 2 ranking in the polls.
Below are offensive and defensive observations, utilizing Pro Football Focus' advanced statistics, from Notre Dame’s performance on Friday.
Offense
Offensive Line Allows Five Pressures
One of the biggest questions coming into Friday afternoon was how the interior of the offensive line would hold up while missing starters Jarrett Patterson (foot surgery) and Tommy Kraemer (emergency appendectomy).
The North Carolina defense did its best to pressure quarterback Ian Book but, ultimately, the offensive line allowed five pressures, just three of which came from replacement starters, Josh Lugg and Zeke Correll.
In total, Book was pressured 10 times against North Carolina, which resulted in two sacks.
Kyren Williams did not have his best day as a pass blocker, but on a few occasions, he was left to pick up multiple blitzing defenders at once — a near-impossible task for a running back.
