The 2-3 North Carolina football team hits the road to South Bend this weekend for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff at Notre Dame. The reeling Tar Heels will face an undefeated Fighting Irish squad that is 5-0 and coming off a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback win over Stanford.

Carolina and Notre Dame will meet for the 19th time in a series that dates back to 1949. The Tar Heels trail the all-time series, only managing to emerge victorious on two occasions.

UNC’s last win over a top-10 team was a 31-28 victory over No.4 Miami in 2004. Tar Heel head coach Larry Fedora says he’s looking to make some history Saturday, but will his error-prone Tar Heels be up to the challenge of a smothering Irish defense and an efficient offense?

 

Offense

The UNC offense continues to be an enigma. When they’re hot, they’re on fire. When they’re cold, they’re freezing. If the Tar Heels can figure out a way to establish more consistency in a largely nonexistent running game, they would take some pressure away from quarterbacks Marquise Williams and Mitch Trubisky, who show flashes of brilliance, but also struggle through abysmal dry periods as well. Coach Fedora has come under some fire in the last week for his insistence on playing Trubisky, despite his lack of success. Last week in Chapel Hill, Trubisky forced a throw that wasn’t there and paid dearly for it with a pick six for the Hokies that put the game out of reach for his team. There’s no question the weapons are there for UNC to get rolling again, but a young, inexperienced offensive line must grow up and an over-dependence on Williams’ feet must be kicked first. Then, UNC needs a running back to emerge, and the coaching staff to elect to feed the ball to him over and over. In short, that’s a lot to ask in one week of preparation for a nasty Irish defense. Carolina should continue to experience streaky play from the offense.

As for the Irish, they’re led by Everett Golson. He’s improved a lot, already having tossed 13 touchdown passes – one more than he had in the entirety of the 2012 season. What’s more, coming into the season, Golson had no standout receiver targets at his disposal, but he’s found favorite targets in Will Fuller and Corey Robinson. But much like the Tar Heels, the Irish have failed to manufacture much of a ground game, choosing to go with a running back-by-committee approach. Notre Dame will be eager to pad their offensive stats in this game against a struggling UNC defense.

EDGE: PUSH

 

Defense

The Tar Heels are steadily improving week-to-week. Greater defensive energy and more pressure up front has been noticeable the past two games. Even the embarrassing tackling woes earlier on in the season have apparently been addressed. But the porous secondary is still prone to giving up big plays through the air.

The Irish, meanwhile, find their identity in their defense. Notre Dame boasts the No. 3 scoring defense in the nation and is ranked ninth-best against the run. These guys are big and fast – only surrendering 12 points per contest. Look out, Carolina offensive line!

EDGE: Notre Dame

 

Special Teams/Intangibles

Both teams pride themselves on their play on special teams. Their punt and kickoff teams are solid. UNC’s Coach Fedora, though, is still waiting for that game-changing play from his special teams unit. He may be waiting another week after this one. The Tar Heels are still making the kinds of mistakes and penalties that make every coach cringe. The Irish are the opposite. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly’s boys are fundamentally sound in every department and are tough to beat in front of their ravenous home fans. And for many UNC players, their eyes will be like saucers because of the rich history and tradition of South Bend. That’s never good.

EDGE: Notre Dame

 

Prediction

The Notre Dame defense is rugged. They’ll shut down a meager UNC rushing attack and force Williams to try to beat them with his arm and scrambling skills.  I expect Golson to do what he does best in managing the game with pinpoint accuracy, avoiding any costly mistakes. Carolina’s back is against the wall and the defense has been steadily improving, but the Irish will score enough to hold off the Tar Heels at home.

ND 35, UNC 30

 

You can follow Matt on Twitter @moakes3