NOTRE DAME, Ind. — North Carolina made it an unlucky 13 straight road losses at Notre Dame in dropping a 44-34 decision to the Irish on Saturday. The Tar Heels (4-4) have never won on the road in the series, as the No. 11 Irish (7-1) ran their all-time record to 20-2 against UNC.
Here’s what we learned in the Tar Heels’ defeat.
Hurt by big plays
Notre Dame had six scoring drives that were for more than 70 yards. But the Tar Heels’ defense was arguably hurt the most by two of Notre Dame’s big-play drives.
UNC grabbed its only lead in the game 20-17 on Ty Chandler’s 53-yard scoring run to start the second half. The lead lasted just 58 seconds.
Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams started the drive with a 14-yard run up the middle. UNC safety Ja’Qurious Conley overplayed a flat pass to Lorenzo Styles Jr., and 40 yards later, the Irish was nearing the red zone. Quarterback Jack Coan capped off the three-play drive when he scrambled 21 yards for his first rushing touchdown of the season.
Trailing 31-27 to start the fourth quarter, Carolina had Notre Dame pinned at its own 9. But on the ensuing play for the Irish, Williams burst 91 yards for a score after reversing his field and giving linebacker Tomon Fox a stiff-arm then outrunning linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel.
Penalty problems
UNC cut back on its number of penalties after consecutive games with double digit flags. But the Heels were still hurt by the timing of their calls.
Marcus McKethan was called for holding, which nullified a 5-yard touchdown run by Howell in the second quarter. UNC could have taken the lead on the play, instead it settled for a field goal to tie the game at 10.
Notre Dame faced a fourth-and-2 from the UNC 36 when Coan was pressured and threw an incomplete pass. The Irish were able to keep their drive going because UNC safety Trey Morrison was called for a facemask penalty that kept the drive going. Coan threw a 21-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing play to put the Irish ahead 17-10.
Record matters
UNC receiver Josh Downs fell short of tying a program record of nine straight games with a touchdown set by Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice. Going back to last season’s Orange Bowl, Downs had caught a touchdown pass in eight straight games including all seven this season.
Downs had a big game otherwise, catching 10 passes for 142 yards. But he’ll probably lament the one dropped pass he had on an inside-screen play that stalled a drive at the Notre Dame 44 to start the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Sam Howell’s 341 yards passing moved him past T.J. Yates for the school record. Howell now has 9,419 career passing yards. Howell also had 101 rushing yards against the Irish. His 442 yards of total offense was the third highest in his career.
Kickoff returns
Carolina got its first extended look at its kickoff return unit against the Irish. The Heels entered the game having returned just seven kickoffs all season. They returned three in the first half alone.
Conley’s big return in the second quarter helped set up a field goal. Conley had a 40-yard return — which is the longest by UNC this season — with 1:23 left before halftime.
Some of the returns came because Notre Dame kicker Jonathan Doerer could not reach the end zone. A few were just UNC players deciding to run instead of taking the touchback.
