CJ Carr’s five-touchdown masterclass and Luke Talich’s gritty defensive display propelled the top-ranked Irish to their fifteenth straight double-digit victory, overcoming costly miscues to silence the Tar Heels.
Notre Dame improved to 5-0 on the season with a road win over the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-2). The third-ranked Fighting Irish had many chances to blow North Carolina out, but ultimately the Irish hung on for a 37-26 score that at times seemed like a more dominant win, but some miscues in all phases kept it closer than it should have been.
But Notre Dame still earned its 15th straight win, with all 15 coming by double digits. There were many standouts for the Irish on both sides of the ball, but three players stood above the rest.
OFFENSE - QB CJ Carr
Stats: 21-29, 72.4%, 234 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT - 15 rush yards, 1 TD
Runners Up: WR Jordan Faison, RB Jonaz Walton, RT Guerby Lambert
Junior quarterback CJ Carr had arguably his best game in a Notre Dame uniform. Carr made plays with his arm and legs, was precise as a thrower, made big plays down the field, handled the elements well and managed the Irish offense against a Bill Belichick coached defense. Carr finished the game with a 72.4-percent completion rate and five touchdowns, with four coming through the air and another on the ground.
Carr got things started off quickly, hitting Jordan Faison with a perfect strike on a post route for a 28-yard touchdown. On the first play of the next series, Carr went right back to the end zone, finding Jaden Greathouse for a back shoulder touchdown. He would add two more touchdowns through the air, including a 39-yard strike to Faison. Carr also made an athletic scrambling touchdown on a 4th-and-Goal play that put the game away fro the Irish.
Faison was his top target, catching eight passes (on nine targets) for 132 yards and two scores. Freshman running back Jonaz Walton also had a breakout performance, racking up 120 yards on 23 carries (5.2 YPC), despite having an impressive 31-yard touchdown run called back by a questionable penalty. Walton also caught two passes for 28 yards. Right tackle Guerby Lambert was arguably the best blocker in the game as the Irish line had its best performance of the season.
DEFENSE - S Luke Talich, DE Boubacar Traore
Talich Stats: 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 interception, 1 blocked kick
Traore Stats: 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 break up
Runners Up: DT Francis Brewu, DT Armel Mukam
It was an off day for the Irish defense as a whole, but that doesn't mean there weren't some standouts. Senior safety Luke Talich missed last week's win over Purdue with a broken hand, and returned this week with a club on his hand, but that didn't stop the Wyoming native from having yet another big game. Talich was also a player of the game in the win over Michigan State, and it was for making plays similar to what we saw in the win over North Carolina. Talich showed great range playing deep, which resulted in him making his second interception of the season. Talich also made a stop behind the line on a well-designed tight end screen, played the intermediate zones well, was a force against the run and he threw in a blocked PAT for good measure.
Senior end Boubacar Traore had another impactful game as well, leading the Irish with six tackles in the game. Traore also was impactful as a pass rusher, including a crucial first quarter hit on quarterback Billy Edwards, which caused the ball to float in the air and into the waiting arms of Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. On the very next play, the Irish offense scored a touchdown to give the Irish its first lead of the game, and they would never trail again.
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