The North Carolina Tar Heels have been given a poor chance to win this weekend.
The North Carolina Tar Heels will be taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this weekend, offering the program a chance to earn a statement win.
North Carolina enters the game with a record of 2-1, coming off a bye week. In their last contest, the Tar Heels fell to the Clemson Tigers on the road, seeing them drop their first game.
But the Tar Heels have now had a lot of time to prepare for the Fighting Irish, even with the odds stacked against them. Playing at home should help some things, but the two teams are being viewed very differently heading into the game.
Notre Dame comes in with a record of 4-0 in the new season, and they will be looking to remain undefeated. The Fighting Irish have been blitzing teams all year long, and the Tar Heels will need to be careful coming into this matchup.
Entering the game, the Tar Heels are being given a very low chance to take down the Fighting Irish, even with the contest being played at home. ESPN has given North Carolina an 8.7 percent chance to win this game.
For North Carolina to win, the offense is going to need to match the output from the Fighting Irish. The Tar Heels offensive attack has been a little shaky to start the new season, with quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. showing real signs of inconsistency.
For the year, Edwards has thrown for 611 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. While he has limited the turnovers this season, Edwards hasn't been able to push the ball down the field much, causing some issues on offense.
Against the Fighting Irish, Edwards will be called upon to make some big throws and whether he can make it happen will determine the outcome of the game. But the defense of the Tar Heels will also need to step up, trying to slow down the strong Notre Dame attack.
Overall, this game could be trouble for the Tar Heels, but if they are able to earn a win, it would be a massive gain for this program. Head coach Bill Belichick has been trying to turn this team around since last season, and a victory over the No. 3 team in the country could do just the trick.
Kickoff between the Tar Heels and Fighting Irish is set for 9 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET from Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.
