The Notre Dame-North Carolina football series stretches back to 1949, with little separating the past from the present except the Tar Heels' misfortune. Entering Saturday, UNC had lost 16 of the 18 meetings between the two schools and had never won at Notre Dame Stadium.
Despite three Fighting Irish turnovers, a North Carolina offense that racked up 510 yards of offense and a streaky effort from Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson, the Tar Heels could not put an end to that streak.
Coach Brian Kelly's group keeps marching forward.
Notre Dame, the sixth-ranked team nationally and one that is starting to look like its 2012 rendition in the way that it finds itself in close games week after week, kept its name among college football's dwindling group of unbeatens with a 50-43 win against UNC on Saturday evening. Coming off a fourth-quarter comeback against Stanford, the Fighting Irish needed another late score to pull ahead for good.
And once again, Notre Dame's reliance on Golson kept things interesting.
Earlier in the season, entering the Syracuse game, Kelly said that unlike the 2012 season that ended with a BCS title game loss, his team now needs Golson to be a playmaker in order to score points. Every game log from this season is evidence of that. Golson finished this game with 38 passes and 12 rushes. And though his team finished with 50 points -- against a terrible UNC defense, one that has been absolutely picked apart by practically every quality opponent this season -- it was Golson's turnovers (interception, two fumbles) that kept UNC's head above water for a while.
Still, it's difficult to argue with results: Golson, who will remain a Heisman candidate as long as Notre Dame remains in the national title picture given his importance to the program's success, finished with 300 yards passing, 71 yards rushing and three total touchdowns. Through the Fighting Irish's first six games this season, he's covered up for his mistakes.
(Tarean Folsten's 169 total yards and three touchdowns certainly helps.)
And he needed to, because North Carolina was not messing around with the Fighting Irish's defense. The Tar Heels put together their most impressive offensive performance of the year after finally turning to a one-quarterback system, leaning on QB Marquise Williams for 435 total yards and three scores. Williams threw a harmful interception while trying to piece together a comeback of his own, but in the middle of a season that is quickly rolling downhill -- UNC has now lost four straight games without a definite win in sight -- there were plenty of positives in this one.
Yes, UNC gave up 50 points for the third time this season, but at least Williams & Co. were competitive throughout, not just putting up points in garbage time.
Overall, though, this was a microcosm of two very different seasons, two programs heading in different directions in 2014. One team found a way to win, the other once again could not overcome its obvious flaws.
For Notre Dame, this sets up what should be a top-five (possibly top-10) showdown in Tallahassee, Fla., against the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles. Both teams are undefeated. Golson is 16-1 as a starter; reigning Heisman winner Jameis Winston has not lost as a starter. Not bad for a midseason, quasi-out-of-conference clash. FSU is just starting to hit its stride after two dominant wins over Wake Forest and Syracuse, and while the Fighting Irish offer a big jump in competition, that road goes both ways. Kelly's team can ill afford to continue playing with fire.
Notre Dame, much like in 2012, is finding success in survival mode.
It worked on Saturday against North Carolina, a 2-4 team that features one of the nation's worst defenses. Avoiding the upset against a desperate opponent was priority No. 1. Golson, along with the rest of his team, will still need to be much better next time out.
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