On the eve of Halloween, Notre Dame and North Carolina are locked in a tight battle in South Bend. Initially, neither side did much of anything to separate itself from the other. Then, the Irish broke through, and they have a 7-0 lead after one quarter.
The Irish had the opening possession and picked up a couple of first downs on it. That progress was halted around midfield when Jack Coan was sacked Kaimon Rucker on third down. The Tar Heels’ first possession was almost identical. They also earned two first downs before stalling out near midfield, though their drive ended on an incomplete pass.
Kyren Williams returned Ben Kiernan’s first punt 47 yards to set the Irish up in Tar Heels territory. This time, the Irish focused on the run, and it paid off with gains from Williams, Tyler Buchner and, believe it or not, Coan. Much of Coan’s progress was wiped out on a false start, but Buchner still hit Avery Davis for a 7-yard touchdown on a screen pass.
Faced with an early deficit, the Tar Heels took the ball back with new life. With a balanced attack, they reached Irish territory for the first time. The quarter ended when Sam Howell hit Josh Downs for 40 yards to give the Tar Heels a first-and-goal, then ran himself to get his team closer: The 3-yard line to be exact. That goose egg on the scoreboard doesn’t appear it will last much longer.