No. 3 Notre Dame beat North Carolina 37-26 on Saturday at Kenan Stadium, as quarterback CJ Carr threw four touchdown passes and ran for another to push the Fighting Irish to 5-0. Wide receiver Jordan Faison caught two of those scores and finished with 132 yards on eight catches.
Notre Dame built a 14-7 lead in the first quarter and led 21-7 early in the second before North Carolina answered. Tar Heels quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns, and kick returner Jaden Jefferson turned a 63-yard kickoff into a 98-yard touchdown return to pull the Tar Heels within a point at 21-20 early in the third quarter. Carr’s third-quarter rushing score steadied Notre Dame, and the Irish pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Takeaways from the Game
Carr and Faison controlled the first half
Carr opened the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown to Faison that tied the game at 7, part of a 7-play, 75-yard drive, according to Yahoo Sports. He added a 12-yard touchdown to Jaden Greathouse before halftime and a 39-yard score to Faison, giving him three touchdown passes in the first half alone. Faison’s final line, 8 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns, made him the most productive playmaker on the field.
North Carolina’s special teams kept it a game
Down 21-7, North Carolina got the game’s most dramatic play when Jaden Jefferson returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 21-20 with 14:46 left in the third quarter. The Tar Heels’ two-point conversion attempt failed, but the return flipped the momentum and forced Notre Dame to answer. Sports Illustrated noted both teams fought to the end after the Irish lead shrank to a single point.
Notre Dame’s ground game wore down UNC
Notre Dame finished with 241 rushing yards on 45 carries, an average of 5.4 yards per attempt, as running back Jonaz Walton led the way with 120 yards on 23 carries. North Carolina managed just 77 yards on 23 carries by comparison. The Irish controlled the ball for 37:04 compared to North Carolina’s 22:56.
Player of the game: CJ Carr
Carr completed 21 of 29 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns through the air, adding a rushing touchdown without turning the ball over. He spread the ball to six different receivers, connecting with Faison, Greathouse and Nolan James Jr. for scores, and his third-quarter touchdown run restored Notre Dame’s lead after the Tar Heels’ kickoff return.
Notre Dame vs North Carolina by the numbers
- Notre Dame piled up 475 total yards to North Carolina’s 285.
- The Irish converted 3 of 5 fourth-down tries while North Carolina went 1 for 1.
- Notre Dame finished with zero turnovers; North Carolina gave the ball away twice, both interceptions thrown by Edwards.
- Notre Dame racked up 26 first downs compared to 18 for North Carolina.
- The Irish held the ball for 37:04 of possession time, more than 14 minutes longer than the Tar Heels.
What’s next
Notre Dame, now 5-0, continues its season with Jordan Faison and Carr looking like one of the nation’s top offensive duos through five games. North Carolina drops to 2-2 and next faces a likely-ranked Pittsburgh team, according to Sports Illustrated, as Bill Belichick’s team looks to build on a performance that kept Saturday’s game competitive deep into the fourth quarter.
Reporting from Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated contributed to this story. Official statistics: ESPN (official league data).
