Coming off a bye week, the North Carolina football team (4-4, 3-3 ACC) lost in a tightly-contested offensive shootout with No.11 Notre Dame (7-0, Ind.), 44-34.
What happened?
Notre Dame got on the board first with a seven-yard touchdown pass from first-year quarterback Tyler Buchner after coming up empty-handed in its opening possession. The Tar Heels also responded on their second drive after being forced to punt early, with sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs hauling in a 41-yard pass on 3rd and eight from junior quarterback Sam Howell. UNC capped off their second drive with a three-yard touchdown run by graduate senior running back Ty Chandler to even the score at 7-7.
After forcing Notre Dame to settle with three points on their next possession, the Tar Heels also had to settle with a 39-yard field goal from graduate senior place-kicker Grayson Atkins, making the score 10-10.
The Fighting Irish recaptured the lead in the next possession, capping off a six-play and 75-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Kevin Austin. To cap off the first-half scoring, UNC marched the ball 51-yards down the field but was forced to settle with another field goal to head into halftime down 17-13.
The Tar Heels came out of the gates swinging in the second half, scoring off a 53-yard run by Chandler to give UNC their first lead of the game, 20-17. The lead was short-lived as Notre Dame responded in less than a minute, scoring on a 21-yard rushing touchdown from senior quarterback Jack Coan to retake the lead, 24-20. After forcing the Tar Heels to punt, the Irish capped off their next drive with a one-yard goalline leap, extending their lead to eleven.
UNC bounced back quickly after facing its largest deficit of the game, scoring off of a wide-open 33-yard touchdown reception from senior wide receiver Antoine Green to cut the lead back to four, 31-27.
Both teams were forced to punt on their next possessions but Williams extended the Notre Dame lead back to eleven on their next drive, scoring off a one-yard rush after an early stiff-arm of senior Tar Heel linebacker Tomon Fox.
The Irish intercepted Howell on UNC’s next offensive possession and capitalized on the turnover with a field goal to make it a two-touchdown game. Howell responded loudly with a 31-yard touchdown run on the Tar Heel’s next possession, but Mack Brown’s group ultimately fell short of Notre Dame by ten points after the Irish milked the clock on the last drive and sealed a 44-34 victory with a 21-yard field goal.
