Notre Dame came into the season as a bit of an unknown, but we quickly learned this unit has a chance to be one of the nation's best. After struggling against Miami, the offense exploded over the next three games. The unit wasn't quite as good against Boise State, scoring just 28 points and publishing its lowest yardage total since the opener against Miami.
Heading into the matchup against NC State, the Irish offense will look to rebound quickly against a Wolfpack defense that is struggling a bit. Notre Dame will need to get the offense going for a number of reasons, including avoiding last week's performance to become a trend.
The good news is Notre Dame is facing a NC State defense that has struggled or much of the 2025 season. This matchup gives Notre Dame a chance to quickly rebound and get back to being the explosive unit it was in the weeks prior to the contest against Boise State.
It has to be stated that calling the Boise State game a struggle shows first and foremost that the bar has clearly been raised with this unit. Notre Dame was far from playing to its potential in the game, which is why I call it a struggled, but it's still a game where the offense averaged 7.2 yards per play. The reality is also that the unit did not perform anywhere close to how it did in the three games prior and how it is capable of.
Notre Dame averaged 46.0 offensive points per game in the three games prior to its matchup against Boise State. The offense also averaged 535.0 yards per game and 7.8 yards per play in those three games. Notre Dame also converted 54.3-percent of its third down chances in those games.
Even with the sub-standard performance, Notre Dame enters this game as one of the best offenses in college football this season. Notre Dame leads the nation in points per game against Power 4 opponents, with the Irish scoring 44.0 points in its four games against those opponents. The Irish also ranks 9th in yards per game (479.8) and 4th in yards per play (7.3) against Power 4 opponents.
Notre Dame has also been incredibly balanced this season, with the offense racking up at least 200 yards on the ground in its last three games and redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr has passed for 264.8 yards per game, completed 69.1-percent of his passes and averaged 10.9 yards per pass attempt in his last four games.
Notre Dame will face a NC State defense that is allowing 30.8 points and 412.3 yards per game, and 6.3 yards per play in four games against Power 4 opponents. NC State has given up 45, 31, 24 and 23 points in its four games against those opponents.
Notre Dame enters the game with one of the nation's best red zone and third down offenses as well, and those are two more areas where the NC State defense struggles.
On paper this is a matchup that Notre Dame should dominate, but for that to happen the offense will need to be sharper than it was against Boise State. Notre Dame had plenty of chances to bury the Broncos, but penalties and missed opportunities plagued the offense. NC State certainly gives them a chance to get right in a hurry, and doing so will allow the offense to quickly get back the momentum it built in the three games prior.
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