The Notre Dame Fighting Irish come out of their bye week to play the North Carolina Tar Heels the day after Thanksgiving. Going into the bye, the Irish beat Clemson in double overtime and then held off Boston College in a potential trap game. The Tar Heels have lost two games this season — by a combined six points — but one of those losses came at Florida State, in the midst of a dreadful season. The Tar Heels are on a two-game winning stream, having piled up 115 points in wins over Duke and Wake Forest. However, they gave up 53 points to Wake Forest, just another sign that the North Carolina defense is suspect at best.
Take a look at our college football betting preview of this ACC showdown.
NCAAF: Notre Dame at North Carolina (Friday, November 27)
When: Friday, November 27, 2020, 3:30 pm ET
Where: Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
TV: ABC
Radio: Notre Dame Radio Network / North Carolina Tar Heel Sports Network
Live Stream: Hulu
NCAAF Odds: Notre Dame -7.5 / O/U 64
Why should you bet on the Fighting Irish?
In the Notre Dame win over Boston College, Ian Book went off for 383 yards and three touchdown passes, and he also led the team in rushing yards with 85, scoring with his feet as well. He spread the ball around through the air, as Avery Davis tied with several other receivers with two receptions, but he did lead the team with 70 receiving yards.
Notre Dame has really only had two close games this season. When Louisville came to town in the fourth game of the season, the Irish were only able to put up 12 points against a Cardinals team that got run out of their own stadium by the far from elite Georgia Tech offense, in a five-point victory. Against Clemson, Notre Dame had built up a sizable lead before the Tigers came roaring back to take a seven-point lead behind a freshman backup quarterback. It was only the Clemson time management mistakes down the stretch, along with some boneheaded coverage in their secondary, that allowed Notre Dame to force overtime in the first place. However, against a porous defense like North Carolina, the Fighting Irish should have plenty of room to operate.
Why should you put your money on the Tar Heels?
Against Wake Forest, Javonte Williams ran for 101 yards on just 13 carries, scoring a touchdown. Dazz Newsome caught 10 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns, and Dyami Brown was almost as prolific, with eight catches for 163 yards and a pair of scores. Quarterback Sam Howell had a huge day, throwing for 550 yards along with six touchdown passes and an interception.
The problem for North Carolina is that defense. If you give up 53 points to Wake Forest and 31 points to Florida State, how many points will you give up against Notre Dame? The Fighting Irish have the front seven to stop the running game and put Howell under pressure before long-developing routes can open up down the field. If you like the Tar Heels, you think the Irish come in flat out of that bye and the Tar Heels can score two or three touchdowns before the Irish wake up and start coming back into the game. Notre Dame hasn’t shown much in the way of weaknesses this season (although their own secondary can yield big plays).
Final Score and Prediction
North Carolina’s offense is fun to watch, but they are the prototypical example of the college team that has a high-octane attack but loses to the real contenders because they didn’t bother to recruit top-shelf defensive players and install a solid scheme. North Carolina should be able to keep up through the first half, but I like the Irish to pull away after the intermission. I predict a final score of Notre Dame 48, North Carolina 27.
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