Notre Dame football: Kyren Williams runs all over UNC in 44-34 victory

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Oct 30, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Avery Davis (3) celebrates with wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. (4) after Austin caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame football: Kyren Williams runs all over UNC in 44-34 victory

1st Quarter

Notre Dame football started with the football, playing an up-tempo style that was marked by short routes and three-step drops. Eventually, they stalled and gave it to North Carolina, who, in turn, also stalled out. Kyren Williams had a big return to set the Irish offense up on an awkward punt by the Tar Heels.

That short field saw the Irish break out freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner and the read-option running game. He ran well, including a nice stiff arm, draining the first quarter clock down to just a couple of minutes, before throwing a touchdown pass to Avery Davis.

North Carolina came back looking to move quickly on offense, and they were more than willing to run Howell. They crossed midfield before getting crossed up and needing to take a timeout. By that point, both teams had burnt two timeouts in the first quarter.

You don’t see that too often. It took North Carolina out of sync, as they immediately had a run get stuffed and had an offensive lineman false start before Howell connected on a deep shot for 42 yards. They snuck in one more run before the quarter ended.

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