UNC will need hope on its side on Saturday.
It's been some season for Notre Dame, a very impressive sign as it heads into the bulk of its season. Notre Dame was expected to be one of the top five teams in America this season, and it has done exactly that, now sitting at 4-0 with some impressive wins.
The Irish will take on North Carolina on Saturday afternoon, a game they're expected to win.
As for North Carolina, this is a good test.
Not that the Tar Heels are expected to win this game, or frankly, even compete, but there's a lot to like about what could possibly be shown. Even if North Carolina were to compete, as crazy as that might sound to some who want this team to win a lot more than it has, I think it would be a promising sign.
We have to take every small win we can get right now, even if the school is allocating a ton of funds to the football program.
As for how Notre Dame feels entering this game, head coach Marcus Freeman has had a lot to hang his hat on. His team has arguably been the best in America, and he credited that to guys just coming in and getting work in day in and day out.
"They're executing better," Freeman said, per ESPN. "There's no magical formula. It's work, it's practice, it's understanding the whats, the whys and the hows of executing on game day. It's the belief in what we're doing and in playing fast with velocity and violence."
What makes matters a bit scary for North Carolina is that if its offense doesn't come to play, Notre Dame is going to boat race them.
Notre Dame's defense has been ridiculous to start the season, and there's no reason to think that will change.
North Carolina might be the best team it's played all season, depending on how it looks, but Notre Dame is so good that it shouldn't matter much for the Irish.
“They're yielding just 199.3 yards per game, the only FBS team allowing fewer than 200. They're allowing 8.3 points per game, just below Iowa at 8.0 and a fraction of last year's four-game average of 27.8.
“Plus, they've allowed just one second-half touchdown, that one coming with 6 seconds left in last weekend's 49-10 rout at Purdue,” ESPN wrote.
