Something has to give between Notre Dame and North Carolina. The Irish hope it won’t be their defense, especially on the ground. Their passing defense isn’t that great by comparison, and it won’t help in this game without Kyle Hamilton. Overall, that unit will have to focus on its strengths, which are forcing turnovers, coming up with stops on third down, and keeping Sam Howell’s pass efficiency low.
The Tar Heels are hoping their offense doesn’t give. The unit is one of the best in the country, and it can both gain yards and score points almost at will. However, it’s also one of the worst in time of possession, so that means it doesn’t have as many opportunities as it would like to have show its stuff. Additionally, the offense will have to rely on support from a defense that doesn’t prevent points or fourth-down conversions very well, so there are plenty of things hampering this team.