Notre Dame football: Irish offense will shut down Sam Howell and UNC

Notre Dame football: Irish offense will shut down Sam Howell and UNC

North Carolina Defense

For how good North Carolina was on offense, they were just as inconsistent on defense. Their scoring defense was 65th in the country, giving up 29.42 points per game. That number is massaged with wins over Syracuse and Western Carolina, while the Tar Heels had to deal with near-constant shootouts, giving up 40 or more points in four games.

Now, they’ll have to go forward without their best defensive player, Chazz Surratt, who had 207 tackles and 12.5 sacks in the past two seasons.

Other than Surratt, most of last season’s defense is back and they’ll be trying to avoid meltdowns and as many big plays. Eugene Asante will be tasked with leading the linebacking room and replacing Surratt’s massive production.

He’s got the size to do it and looked good in the Orange Bowl, but now he has to put everything together over a full season. He’ll have help from Jeremiah Gemmel too.

Perhaps more important to the front seven is going to be Tomon Fox, one of the ACC’s best and most athletic edge rushers. An All-ACC honorable mention in 2020, Fox has the best combination of size and speed to make life difficult on opposing tackles.

They’ll use him in a similar role to that of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah last season. He shouldn’t be confused with his brother, Tomari Fox, who has massive size on the edge.

The secondary has some growing up to do, at least statistically, but their athleticism is outstanding. Storm Duck at cornerback is one of the best in the ACC, while he’s opposite studs like Tony Grimes and Kyler McMichael. Behind them, at safety, are standouts, Trey Morrison and Don Chapman.