This weekend the 3-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the 4-2 NC State Wolfpack who are coming off of their biggest win of the season 56-10 over the Campbell Camels. The Irish and the Wolfpack rarely face off on the recruiting trail despite North Carolina being a recruiting hot-bed for Notre Dame in recent years. This is one of the few matchups where the recruiting rankings for an opposing team directly effect the product on the field. NC State's offense has been the highlight of the team so far in 2025 while the defense has struggled throughout the season.
These two Power 4 schools rarely meet on the recruiting trail, which makes this matchup from a recruiting standpoint significantly more interesting. Let's take a look at the recruiting comparison, using the On3 rankings to compare.
Notre Dame Offense vs NC State Defense
Notre Dame has eight four-star players, two three-star players and one unranked player in their projected offensive starting lineup for Saturday. NC State has one four-star player, five three-star players and five unranked players in their projected defensive starting lineup for Saturday.
This matchup favors the Irish by a significant margin when you talk recruiting rankings. Notre Dame has eight players in their starting lineup for Saturday that were former Top 300 recruits led by right guard Guerby Lambert (No. 42), quarterback CJ Carr (No. 68), running back Jeremiyah Love (No. 77) and right tackle Aamil Wagner (No. 80). The Wolfpack only have one former Top 300 player in their projected starting lineup for Saturday and that's defensive tackle Travali Price who was the No. 254 player in his class.
NC State has five players who were unranked coming out of high school, with defensive end Sebastian Harsh playing significantly above his recruiting ranking, or lack thereof. Harsh leads the team in tackles for a loss with 6.0 and sacks with 2.5. Notre Dame's lone unranked player in their starting lineup is wide receiver Jordan Faison who currently leads the team in receptions (25) and yards (327).
Notre Dame Defense vs NC State Offense
Notre Dame has eight four-star players and three three-star players in their projected defensive starting lineup for Saturday. NC State has five four-star players and six three-star players in their projected offensive starting lineup for Saturday.
Similar to the offensive side of the ball, this matchup on paper favors Notre Dame, but not by as wide of a margin as the other side of the ball. The Irish have eight former Top 300 recruits in their projected starting lineup with linebacker Jaylen Sneed (No. 35), defensive end Bryce Young (No. 56) and linebacker Drayk Bowen (No. 103) leading the charge. The Wolfpack have three former Top 300 recruits in their projected starting lineup including wide receiver Noah Rogers (No. 52), wide receiver Wesley Grimes (No. 221) and right guard Spike Sowells (No. 145).
Both teams have former three-star players who are playing significantly above their initial high school rating. The Irish have former three-star cornerback Leonard Moore who has been coined as the best cover corner in all of college football. The Wolfpack have former three-star quarterback CJ Bailey who currently has 1,660 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns on the season. Bailey is one of the more dynamic quarterbacks the Notre Dame defense will face this season.
CLASS RANKINGS
Here are the class rankings of the two programs from the last five seasons (247 Composite Rankings)
Notre Dame
2025 – 12
2024 – 9
2023 – 12
2022 – 7
2021 – 9
NC State
2025 – 35
2024 – 28
2023 – 43
2022 – 64
2021 – 36
Advantage: Notre Dame
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