Notre Dame Football at North Carolina Tar Heels review: 3 Studs, 3 Duds
By Andrew Hall
Notre Dame Football at North Carolina Tar Heels review: 3 Studs, 3 Duds
3 Studs
Defensive Coordinator Clark Lea
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea continues to impress with his ability to innovate and adapt. After allowing two touchdowns and 125 yards on their first two drives, the Notre Dame defense stood tall and allowed only three points and a total of 173 yards the rest of the way.
This was an exceptional team effort on that side of the ball, and in Lea, they have a budding superstar in the coaching ranks. It won’t be long until he is a head coach somewhere.
Quarterback Ian Book
Ian Book, at times, looked uncomfortable with the pass protection, but that is understandable when you consider there were two new starters playing in front of him. However, Book continued to play at an extremely high level.
He completed 23-of-33 for 279 yards and a touchdown, while also adding 48 yards on the ground and cornered the market on backhanded flip passes. Ultimately, he made the plays necessary to keep drives alive and win his record-tying 29th career start.
Linebacker Drew White
Like Book, Drew White is often an overlooked member of the Notre Dame football team. He quarterbacks the defense and makes sure everyone is aligned, and against North Carolina, he collected five tackles with two going for a loss.
These statistics do not tell the entire story. White helped clog the middle of the line which blocked the running lanes for North Carolina’s running backs and collapse the pocket in on Sam Howell.