Notre Dame overcame a sloppy first half and pulled away from undermanned North Carolina State to win by 36-7. CJ Carr led the Fighting Irish with 342 passing yards as the Wolfpack sold out to stop the running game. This strategy worked quite well for two quarters but Notre Dame’s physicality wore down the visitors. Defensively, the Irish recorded three interceptions, four sacks, and a safety while holding NC State to 51 yards rushing.

Following an Irish defensive stop on the opening possession, Carr wasted no time getting his team into the end zone. Two deep passes to Will Pauling set up Jeremiyah Love’s one-yard scoring plunge. After another punt by the Wolfpack, Notre Dame seemed on its way to a rout. Instead, the Irish ran off the road and into a ditch.

Love fell inches short of the sticks on a third down run at the NC State 11-yard line. Unsurprisingly, Coach Marcus Freeman elected to go for it on fourth down. Also unsurprisingly, Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock chose trickery over power. A pass play fooled no one as Carr was forced out of bounds for a ten-yard loss.

Momentum shifted and the Wolfpack offense found its footing. They crossed midfield before quarterback CJ Bailey hit Terrell Anderson on a 45-yard bomb. Anderson beat Irish cornerback Dallas Golden to tie the game at seven early in the second period. Instead of responding forcefully, Notre Dame went into a funk.

The next three Irish possessions ended in disaster. Penalties stopped consecutive drives in their tracks. Fortunately, Notre Dame’s defense dug in and kept the Wolfpack at bay. Consecutive sacks got the ball back to Carr and the Irish with a few minutes left in the half. Two deep passes to tight end Eli Raridon propelled Notre Dame into the red zone.

When the drive stalled and the Irish faced another fourth down, Freeman again eschewed a short field goal. Denbrock’s next pass play looked much like his last one in this situation. NC State forced Carr into a desperation heave that was picked off in the end zone.

After weathering two horrendous calls by the ACC referees, Notre Dame got the ball back with 25 seconds remaining. Thanks to a 23-yard punt return by Jordan Faison, the offense had a chance to get into field goal range. A pass interference penalty and three subsequent completions by Carr set up a 48-yard attempt. Kicker Noah Burnette came on despite a sore hip and squeaked one over the crossbar for a 10-7 halftime advantage.

Both teams went three and out to open the second half before Notre Dame got going. Tyler Buchner provided a spark by running for a first down as the Irish shifted out of punt formation. Carr found KK Smith for an 18-yard score to stretch the lead to 17-7. After another NC State punt, Carr and Love moved the offense back into scoring territory. Carr’s twelve-yard touchdown pass to Pauling gave the hosts breathing room at 24-7.

Bailey tried to rally the Wolfpack as the game moved into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for NC State, his tosses fell into the hands of Irish defenders. Safety Adon Shuler picked off a pass over the middle to set up another field goal by Burnette. Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa grabbed another errant throw by Bailey and returned it to the NC State 19. Notre Dame failed to capitalize as Jadarian Price fumbled the ball away at the goal line.

The Irish defense responded on the next play by knocking the ball loose. Bailey reached back to recover for the Wolfpack but the ball was in the end zone. By rule, this is a Safety. Notre Dame now led by 29-7 and lined up to receive a free kick. A few plays later, Carr’s deep pass and Raridon’s diving catch set up yet another touchdown by Love. Freeman then called upon his reserves to finish the final five minutes of the game.

Bailey’s last gasp fell into the hands of Irish cornerback Karson Hobbs, who made a leaping interception. It was good to see both he and Buchner contribute to the win after a rough September.

Once again, Notre Dame turned in an uneven performance that took several potential points off the board. This allowed a weaker opponent to hang around throughout the first half. If the Irish cannot resolve their red zone snafus and drive-killing penalties, it will catch up to them. Denbrock appears unwilling to have Carr line up under center and allow his linemen and backs to plow forward. His ill-conceived pass plays are too cute by half, and his overuse of the fade pass is exasperating. These remnants of the Brian Kelly offense represent a complete mismanagement of the talent at his disposal.

Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions.

• Will the Irish clean up the miscues that hampered the offense last week? If you have been paying attention so far, you know my answer to this one.
• Can Carr exploit the Wolfpack secondary with on-target passing? CJ was not perfect but he was better than last week. He was only 19 of 31 but he made each completion for a ton of yards. Pauling and Raridon each had more than 100 yards receiving and Smith had a productive outing.
• Will Love and Price continue to terrorize opposing defenses? NC State did its best to stop them and it showed up in the final statistics. Still, Notre Dame outrushed the Wolfpack by 143-51.
• Can Notre Dame’s special teams make a significant contribution? Faison’s punt return and Burnette’s long field goal saved a lousy first half. Buchner’s first down run was also meaningful.
• Which team will win the turnover battle? Technically, the Irish this statistic won by 3-2. The fourth down failures in the red zone can only be regarded as turnovers, though. And inexcusable ones at that. 
• Can Notre Dame win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball? Yes, especially on defense. Notre Dame’s offensive line eventually wore down NC State’s dogged defensive front.
• Will the Irish pressure Bailey enough to lower his 75% completion rate? Bailey was 17 of 30 and was under siege in the second half.
• Can Hollywood Smothers steal the spotlight from Love and Price? Both Irish backs outgained Smothers, who rushed for only 46 yards. He had previously averaged 115 yards per game.

Next up for Notre Dame is the rivalry game against USC. The Trojans are currently torching Michigan as I write this. Despite recent improvements by the Irish defense, NC State missed a few scoring chances through the air. USC has too much skilled position talent to squander these opportunities. Notre Dame also played and coached itself out of at least 21 points this week. At some point, maybe even in seven days, these miscues will extract a heavy price.

This is a reprint of John’s original recap article lost in a site technical issue