#11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1) VS North Carolina Tar Heels (4-3)

Things are looking up for the Irish after taking down Southern Cal. The offense looked and performed noticeably better — but there is still room for improvement. The loss of Kyle Hamilton against SC was big, but D.J. Brown stepped up JUST like he did last season against UNC when Hamilton was ejected in the first half for targeting.

The win has more fans talking about the real possibility of an 11-1 finish, and some have even dared to map out the seemingly impossible task of making the college football playoffs (ESPN’s predictor has the Irish with an 8% chance right now).

But once again we have to play one game at a time — it’s a one game season each and every week from here on out. North Carolina is coming to town for another prime time game. The Irish have won nine straight home night games, and are favored once agains in this matchup.

North Carolina is every bit that I (and the rest of the OFD Podcast crew for that matter) thought they would be. Like the Irish, UNC lost a lot of talent from last year, though they haven’t been able to piece it together as successfully (6-1 is a success BTW). The fact that pundits were excited that UNC was bringing back the 5 starters from a bad offensive line has proved to be the funnier jokes and prophecies from the preseason.

“Style points” is a buzz word once agains across college football, and for Notre Dame it’s certainly applicable — but you have to keep it within context. The first CFB Playoff rankings come out on the Tuesday following this game, and a dominant showing on Saturday night could go a long way of a better position than where the coaches and AP have placed the Irish.

UND.com

Everything you need to know about Notre Dame and North Carolina this week can be found in the stream below.