Notre Dame’s trip to Chapel Hill opens ACC play with a familiar edge: the Irish have owned this series for decades, and the numbers are lopsided enough to say it plainly. Notre Dame is 21-2 all-time against North Carolina, and the latest meeting came in 2022, when Marcus Freeman picked up his first win over the Tar Heels.
The matchup arrives after Notre Dame rolled through the Big Ten portion of its schedule at 3-0, winning by an average of 28 points. Now the Irish head into a road test against a North Carolina team that, even coming off a bye week, is expected to bring plenty of fight under Bill Belichick.
The series itself has deep roots. Notre Dame and North Carolina have played 23 times, with the teams meeting every season from 1949 through 1962 except for 1957 and 1961. Since Notre Dame joined the ACC schedule, the schools have met five times, and the Irish won all four games during the Brian Kelly era before Freeman’s win in 2022.
That recent history includes several games that tell the story of the matchup better than any record book can. In 2022, Notre Dame beat North Carolina 45-32 behind a huge day from Drew Pyne, who threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Audric Estime added 134 rushing yards and two scores, Michael Mayer caught seven passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, and the Irish offense kept control after North Carolina struck first on the opening drive.
A year earlier, Notre Dame escaped 44-34 in a game that turned on Kyren Williams. North Carolina had grabbed a 20-17 lead to start the second half, but Williams later ripped off a 91-yard touchdown run after turning what looked like a four-yard loss into one of the defining plays of the season. He finished with 199 rushing yards, while Sam Howell accounted for 341 passing yards and another 101 on the ground for the Tar Heels.
The 2020 meeting was shaped by Notre Dame’s defense. North Carolina scored on its first two drives, and the Irish lost Kyle Hamilton to an ejection for targeting, but from there the defense took over. Notre Dame finished with 6 sacks and 8 tackles for loss, held North Carolina to 298 total yards, and limited the Tar Heels to 2-for-12 on third down in a 31-17 win.
There was also the 2017 game, when Ian Book made his first career start and Notre Dame ran for 341 yards in a 33-10 victory. Josh Adams and Deon McIntosh led the ground game, while the defense forced three turnovers and sacked Chazz Surratt twice.
The 2014 meeting was far tighter, with Notre Dame needing a fourth-quarter push to win 50-43 over a North Carolina team that was not expected to hang around that long. The Irish were undefeated and ranked sixth at the time, but the game also became a warning sign for a defense that would later unravel.
Notre Dame also beat North Carolina 32-0 on the way to the 1966 national title, and the first meeting came in 1949 at Yankee Stadium, where Frank Leahy’s Irish rolled 42-6 before finishing the season with Leahy’s fourth and final national championship.
In Other News...
Lincoln Riley Is Taking Heat While Notre Dame Gets More Good News
While USC coach Lincoln Riley was drawing criticism for his remarks after linebacker Desman Stephens II was ejected for targeting against Oregon, Notre Dame had a different kind of Sunday mood around its program. The Irish also picked up a pair of encouraging notes from their own side, with Jeremiyah Love and Joey OBrien both turning in performances that added to the positive buzz around the team.
Rileys explanation for keeping Stephens on the sideline after the ejection, and his claim that he did not see the celebrations, only added to the noise around USCs loss and the way it was handled. Notre Dame, meanwhile, kept its focus on the field and on a stretch of good news that extended beyond its own roster, with Purdue coach Barry Odom also weighing in after the Irish game. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Lost A Transfer WR In The Most Frustrating Way
Quincy Porters time at Notre Dame has hit an especially cruel snag before it ever had a chance to get started. Marcus Freeman said the transfer wide receiver will undergo season-ending patella surgery later this week, officially shutting down a 2026 campaign in which Porter never got to take a single snap for the Irish after coming over from Ohio State.
Porter had already been battling injury issues that kept pushing back his return, and the timing makes the setback sting even more. Under recent NCAA eligibility rule changes, he also cannot redshirt this season, which means 2025 is effectively gone from a roster-building standpoint and leaves Notre Dame waiting to see what comes next for a player who was supposed to add depth to the receiver room. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Got The Early Break Purdue Couldnt Recover From
Barry Odom had plenty to sort through after Purdues 49-10 loss to Notre Dame, but the Boilermakers defense drew the sharpest criticism. The first-year head coach pointed to several calls he believed hurt his team early, and the Irish took advantage as the game quickly slipped out of hand. Purdue also put itself in a difficult spot with a fake punt attempt that came close to working before turning into another swing moment for Notre Dame.
For a team trying to steady itself against FBS competition, the concern is less about one bad night than the trend it now sits in. Purdue has lost three straight games to FBS opponents, and the margins have grown each time, which only adds to the pressure to clean up the defense and avoid giving away momentum so early. [Read more 🡒]