North Carolina and Notre Dame meet for the 22nd time in a series that began in 1949. Notre Dame leads the series 19-2-0. Both Carolina victories occurred in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels scored a 12-7 decision in 1960 and beat the Fighting Irish, 29-24, in 2008.
In the previous 21 meetings, Notre Dame has been ranked in 14 of those. The Irish were ranked No. 1 in the country in three of the previous meetings and in the top 10 on nine occasions. North Carolina faced Notre Dame every season from 1949 to 1956 and 12 times between 1949 and 1962. This season will be the fifth meeting since 2006.
The Tar Heels and Fighting Irish are in the midst of playing head-to-head over the span of three-successive seasons. UNC hosted Notre Dame in 2020 and will do that again in 2022.
About UNC
Carolina leads the ACC and is tied for fifth nationally with six plays of 60 or more yards. UNC also leads the ACC and is tied for second nationally with 25 plays of 30+ yards.
Carolina sits fifth in the ACC with 272.1 yards per game through the air. UNC’s 19 TD passes are tied for third in the league, with 18 coming from Sam Howell.
UNC is enjoying a +24 (68-44) scoring margin in the fourth quarter this season. Carolina led the nation in fourth-quarter scoring margin spanning the 2019 and 2020 seasons at +116.
Carolina already has 10 takeaways on defense through seven games in 2021 and rank tied for fifth in the ACC with seven interceptions.
Carolina is seventh in the ACC by limiting opponents to only 219.7 passing yards per game. UNC has allowed less than 200 passing yards in five of seven games. The outlier thus far was the 553 surrendered in the win over Virginia.
Sam Howell became the first Carolina QB to ever have back-to-back 100-yard rushing games and has joined Marquise Williams as the only two to have three games in a season with 100
rushing yards. For his career, Sam Howell is 137 of 212 (64.6%) with 2,065 yards and 27 total touchdowns (23 passing, 4 rushing) against two turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs has been Sam Howell’s favorite target each of the first seven weeks of the 2021 season. Downs leads the ACC in receptions (60) and is second in receiving yards (837) and reciving touchdowns (8). All three figures rank in the top seven nationally. Downs is the first player to register at least eight catches and a TD in seven-straight games since Fresno State’s Davante Adams in 2013 (9 straight). Downs has a TD catch in eight-straight games dating back to last year’s Orange Bowl
Tennessee transfer Ty Chandler ranks fifth in the ACC with 84.0 rushing yards per game and seven rushing touchdowns. Chandler rushed for a career-high 198 yards and Carolina racked up 392 yards on the ground against Virginia on Sept. 18.
Sophomore defensive lineman Myles Murphy is enjoying a breakout sophomore season. He leads the team with four sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Both figures are the most among sophomore defenders in the ACC. He has at least one sack in four of the last six games, and had 2.5 TFL alone against Duke.
Sophomore linebacker Kaimon Rucker has started the last six games and ranks second on the team with four tackles for loss and third with 2.5 sacks. His best game of the season came against Virginia with two sacks, a forced fumble and five total tackles. Rucker added four stops and a half TFL at Georgia Tech.
About Notre Dame
Notre Dame is currently tied for 5th nationally with 11 interceptions. It is the most interceptions since 2018 when the Irish had 12 for the season. The Irish have totaled 16 takeaways this season, which ranks tied for eighth nationally.
Notre Dame is 23rd nationally for third down defense as it has held opponents to 35-for-104 (34%) on third down this season. Notre Dame has won 32-straight games when allowing less than 20 points dating back to 2016.
Notre Dame has won 38-straight games when it has scored 30 or more points after the 31-16 win over Southern Cal. The Irish are 71-9 under head coach Brian Kelly when they score 30 or more points.
Isaiah Foskey has been the most consistent member of the Irish defensive line this season as he leads the team in sacks and tackles-for-loss. He has 8.0 sacks on the year, a number that ranks third in the country. Foskey also ranks in the top-five in the country in forced fumbles and fumbles recovered. He is tied for fourth with two fumble recoveries and tied for fifth with three forced fumbles.
Running back Kyren Williams broke out with season-best numbers across the board in the win over Southern Cal last week. He had a season-best 138 yards on the ground, which was the most by an Irish player this season. Williams leads the team with 805 all-purpose yards and 508 rushing yards and he is second on team in receptions with 25.
Tight end Michael Mayer is one of the best tight ends in the country, as he ranks in the top-five among tight ends in receptions and receiving yards per game. Mayer ranks third in receptions with 37 and fifth in receiving yards per game with 69.0. For the season, 22 of his 37 receptions have resulted in a first down for the Irish.Linebacker
JD Bertrand continues his streak of leading the Irish in tackles with a team-high seven in the win over Southern Cal. He has led or tied for the lead in tackles in each of the seven games this season for the Irish. Bertrand has 41 solo tackles on the season and is tied for ninth in the nation with 5.9 solo tackles per game.
Since the start of 2018, Notre Dame is 39-6 (.867). That rate ranks fifth among all teams who have made an appearance in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014. Among those teams, Notre Dame is one of just five teams that have totaled six or fewer losses since the beginning of 2018. The Irish are one of five teams who have made playoff appearances in multiple seasons.
How to Watch
Television: NBC
Stream: NBC Sports App
On-Air Time: 7:30 p.m.
Announcers: Mike Tirico, play-by-play; Drew Brees, analyst; Kathryn Tappen, sideline