Book, defense keep irish unbeaten
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Ian Book kept scrambling to buy time and help No. 2 Notre Dame put together multiple long touchdown drives. The Irish’s defense allowed little room for Sam Howell and No. 25 North Carolina’s potent offense to do the same.
Book threw for a score while the Irish defense locked down the Tar Heels for the final three quarters in a 31-17 victory Friday. The win kept Notre Dame on course to earn a spot in the ACC championship game.
Both teams scored two first-quarter touchdowns and went into halftime tied at 17, only to see Notre Dame gradually take over in a performance coach Brian Kelly called “one of those road wins that really shows the mettle of your football team.”
“It felt like it was going to be a shootout in the beginning,” Book said. “Our defense did an unbelievable job in the second half and gave us a lot of opportunities, and we were able to capitalize on it.”
Book threw for 279 yards and ran for 48 for the Irish (9-0, 8-0 ACC, No. 2 CFP), using his mobility and elusiveness to keep plays alive on a night when both offenses frequently faced long fields.
Receiver Ben Skowronek got Notre Dame its first lead with his 13-yard run around the right side midway through the third quarter. Kyren Williams ran for 124 yards— including a 47-yarder with about 5½ minutes left as the Irish burned clock.
Williams closed that drive with his second rushing touchdown, a clinching one-yarder with 1:20 left that kept the Irish alone atop the ACC standings ahead of No. 4 Clemson and No. 10 Miami. He also had a four-yard scoring catch in the first quarter after Book corralled a low snap and scrambled to buy time before finding him on the right side.
More impressively, though, was a defensive effort that forced Howell and the highscoring Tar Heels to work for every gain after the opening quarter.
North Carolina (6-3, 6-3, No. 19 CFP) sprinted to touchdowns on its first two drives, but Notre Dame surrendered only one field goal from there. The Tar Heels came in averaging 43 points and 563 yards, yet they were unable to protect Howell nor open running lanes for a pair of backs averaging better than 100 yards rushing each in Javonte Williams and Michael Carter.
The Heels finished with a season-low 298 yards while Howell — one of the national leaders in passing yardage and touchdowns — threw for just 211 yards and a score. He also ran for a touchdown.
“You can’t rush for 87 yards and have six sacks and beat anybody, much less a really, really good football team,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. “So give Notre Dame credit. They’re really, really good. When they stepped up in the second half on defense, they really stepped up.” ✶