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The five plays that loomed large in Notre Dame’s win over UNC

michael chen
·4 min read
7

The Irish went into Chapel Hill, North Carolina and stopped another high-powered offense. This time the Notre Dame offense kept their end of the bargain and out-scored a statistically very good North Carolina offense. Not all the scoring plays were big and here are the five plays that ultimately helped Notre Dame defeat North Carolina.

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1st quarter, 5:15 left on the clock

The Irish already trail by seven but just forced a three-and-out and quality field position. The Irish need points and on 3rd down, quarterback Drew Pyne finds tight end Michael Mayer for a first down. It seems like the Irish offense is finally moving the ball, but Pyne is sacked by UNC linebacker Powers Echols. Although a pass to Chris Tyree would gain 13-yards on the next play, Blake Groupe would need to hit a 44-yard field goal to get points for the Irish. He barely missed to the right, but the confidence to move the ball was growing.

2nd quarter, 15:00 on the clock

After a lackluster first quarter on offense, the Irish are in the midst of a solid drive. After Pyne ran 12-yards for a first down on a 3rd and 8, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees drew up one of his best plays of the year. Pyne found Logan Diggs down the sideline for 39-yards on a great play call, forcing the linebacker to choose between two receivers. When he committed to covering the short man, Diggs was wide open for the big gainer. The Irish would later score as Pyne found Mayer to tied the game at 7 early in the second quarter.

2nd quarter, 10:25 left on the clock

Sep 24, 2022; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Lorenzo Styles (4) celebrates with tight end Michael Mayer (87) and wide receiver Jayden Thomas (83) after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Irish defense forced their second 3-and-out and gave the ball back to the offense with solid field position. The Irish would line up on a 2nd and 3, make a formation adjustment and Pyne would hand the ball off to Audric Estime, who would rumble 29-yards through the middle of the UNC defense. By having a successful running game, it forces safeties to creep up and help and on the next play, play-action took advantage of this as Pyne found wide receiver Lorenzo Styles for a 30-yard touchdown strike and a 14-7 Irish lead.

3rd quarter, 12:13 on the clock

Linebacker JD Bertrand had to wait for this time to shine. After being ejected against Cal in the second half for targeting, he was forced to miss the first half of the game against UNC. Well, on the first play we was able to join in the action, he made a massive play. Bertrand blitzed straight through the middle, untouched, and strip-sacked Tar Heel quarterback Drake Maye. Defensive end Justin Ademilola jumped on the loose ball and gave the Irish the ball in the redzone. The Irish would get their first turnover of the season and it would lead to 7-points and the route was officially on.

4th quarter, 0:00 left on the clock

Phew, that got a bit sketchy at the end, but a win is a win. Victory formation is how we love seeing Notre Dame games end. It means the game is in hand and the Irish are getting a win. It now makes two wins in-a-row which consists of a winning streak. Marcus Freeman can finally check off another box off his coach to-do list, a road victory. Next up is a three-game winning streak which the Irish will have to wait two weeks to accomplish. It is a great feeling going into a bye week. Notre Dame has gotten better over the last two weeks and hopefully that trend continues.

Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire