Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1547006
28 OCT. 10, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NORTH CAROLINA VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON North Carolina 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 6:08 8:56 1:42 6:10 15:04 7:52 22:56 Third-Down Conversions 2-3 2-3 0-1 1-3 4-6 1-4 5-10 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 1-1 Average Field Position UNC-25 UNC-14 UNC-25 UNC-25 UNC-21 UNC-25 UNC-23 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 8:52 6:04 13:18 8:50 14:56 22:08 37:04 Third-Down Conversions 3-4 0-1 0-3 1-3 3-5 1-6 4-11 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 3-3 0-1 0-1 3-4 3-5 Average Field Position ND -40 ND -34 ND -29 ND -45 ND -38 ND -37 ND -37 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards UNC ND Nega ve 4 4 0-5 27 35 6-9 5 18 10-19 13 13 20-29 1 2 30-39 0 1 40-49 1 0 50 or more 0 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score North Carolina 3 3 0 0 Notre Dame 5 3 1 1 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 2-3 UNC28 Carr pass to Faison for 28 yards and a touch- down • 3-7 UNC39 Carr pass to Faison for 39 yards and a touch- down North Carolina • 3-3 UNC46 Edwards pass to Shipp for 44 yards to ND10 Despite playing with a cast on his left hand, senior safety Luke Talich (left) made 3 tackles (1 for loss), recorded an intercep- tion and blocked an extra point against North Carolina. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP 37-26 road victory at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Luke Talich. A little over a week after having sur- gery on his left hand and still wearing a cast on his wrist, the senior safety re- turned to the lineup after a one-week absence that was supposed to be two. And the former walk-on from Cody, Wyo., was the only Irish defender to play all 51 defensive snaps. "Oh, it affected me a little bit," Talich said of the injury he suffered while play- ing every defensive snap of a 27-10 victory over Michigan State Sept. 19. "You know, getting used to playing with kind of like half a hand is definitely an adjustment. But I knew I was going to get that first drive out of the way and kind of get used to it. And then, yeah, I kind of settled in there and ended up being all right." All right? Talich picked off North Carolina sixth-year quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. on the Tar Heels' third drive of the game. He also had 3 tackles, including 1 for loss, and blocked an extra point with the healing left hand. Talich's interception was his team- leading second of the season. "He played well. He practiced well," Freeman said after the Irish pushed their record to 5-0. "To just have him back there after having surgery a week ago is a reflection of him. He said, 'No, I'll be back in one week.' It shows how tough he is." Talich missed Notre Dame's 49-10 domination of Purdue Sept. 26 but has been one of Notre Dame's top defenders since moving into the starting lineup MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Notre Dame improved its all-time record against North Carolina to 22-2 with its 37-26 victory. The Fighting Irish have now won six straight and 12 of the last 13 against the Tar Heels. • Under head coach Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame is now 21-4 against ACC opponents, including 10-3 in true road games. • With 4 passing touchdowns against the Tar Heels, Irish junior quarterback CJ Carr moved his career total to 37. Carr now ranks ninth on Notre Dame's career passing touchdown list, behind Rick Mirer (1989-92), who threw 40. • Senior defensive end Boubacar Traore matched his career high with 6 tackles against North Carolina. Among those 6 stops was 1 tackle for loss, which moved Traore's career total to 20.5. He is tied for 38th all-time in tackles for loss with Mike Goolsby and Rocky Boiman. • The Irish have allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards in six straight games, dating back to the 2025 finale at Stanford — tied for the third-longest streak in school history, match- ing streaks in 1932-33, 1964, 1965 and 1982.