The 16th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-2) host the NC State Wolfpack (4-2) in South Bend for the first time since 2017. Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman are riding a three-game win streak that they'll look to keep alive against the Wolfpack and head coach Dave Doeren who is 1-2 all time against the Irish. NC State is 4-2 on the season but is only 1-2 in their last three games.
Where: Notre Dame, Ind. - Notre Dame Stadium
When: 3:30 PM EST
Television: Peacock - Dan Hicks (play-by-play); Jason Garrett (analyst); Zora Stephenson (sideline)
Radio: Notre Dame Radio Network: Tony Simeone (play-by-play); Ryan Harris (analyst); SiriusXM 129
Spread: Notre Dame -22.5; O/U 60.5 (FanDuel)
What To Know: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
After a rough 0-2 start to the season, Notre Dame has turned their fortunes around and are on the brink of, once again, being ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press Poll. Their offense has been electric this season averaging 40.8 points per game (No. 13 in the country), 283.0 passing yards per game (No. 25 in the country) and 15 rushing touchdowns (No. 15 in the country). Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr has looked more like a third year starter under center and is backed by a backfield that is second to none in college football. Their pass catching unit has been what we had hoped it would be this season and the offensive line has improved drastically since the first two games.
Their defensive improvement, however, has been a big cause for the turnaround. They started the season allowing 27 points to Miami, 41 points to Texas A&M and 30 points to Purdue. Since then, they've allowed 13 points to Arkansas on the road and seven points to Boise State last weekend. The defense has gotten healthier with cornerback Leonard Moore back in the starting lineup and have made some important personnel changes that have impacted the secondary with Tae Johnson stepping into the starting lineup. If this defense continues trending in the right direction, this football team will be one of the hottest in the country heading into the post season.
What To Know: NC State Wolfpack
NC State has had an interesting season. They're currently sitting at 4-2 but a strong argument could be made that they should be 6-0, or at the very least 5-1. They blew a 20-7 lead against Duke and only put up 21 points against a Virginia Tech team that was less than two weeks removed from firing their head coach. Their offense has been explosive this season and have tallied 59 explosive plays this season. Quarterback CJ Bailey has been electric this year passing for 1,660 yards, 13 touchdowns and rushing for an additional three scores. Running back Hollywood Smothers is currently averaging 6.9 yards per carry and has five rushing touchdowns. Their receiving corps is dynamic and their offensive line has been performing better than expected.
Their defense, on the other hand, has struggled this season. They rank 77th in the country in points allowed (25.0), 88th in the country in rushing touchdowns allowed (9), 113th in the country in 3rd down defense (44.1%) and 118th in the country in turnovers gained. They have talent on defense, but they've been undisciplined at times and struggle tackling. The NC State defense has missed 53 tackles this season through six games, an average of almost nine missed tackles per game. If the defense can find it's footing, this NC State team will be hard to beat in future matchups, and they'll have to turn it around against one of the hotter offensive teams in the country this Saturday afternoon.
This is the fifth all time meeting between the Fighting Irish and the Wolfpack. The series is deadlocked at 2-2. Notre Dame won the last two meetings in 2017 35-14 and 2023 45-23. NC State won the first two meetings in 2002 in the post season and in the infamous 2016 'Hurricane Game.'
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