what we learned: nc state
A day after Notre Dame's 36 to 7 win over NC State, the winning streak now sits at four games, but anyone who actually watched Saturday's game comes away with a very specific and very valid complaint this morning. This team is still getting in its own way far too often, even while thoroughly outclassing its opponent.
The Positives
The underlying numbers were as lopsided as the final score suggested they should be. Notre Dame outgained NC State 485 yards to 233, and CJ Carr threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Kaleb Smith and Will Pauling for scores. The defense intercepted NC State quarterback CJ Bailey three times, with Christian Gray coming away with one and Leonard Moore adding another after being deployed as a rover across multiple spots in the formation, and the unit even recorded a fourth quarter safety on a wild, replay reviewed fumble sequence that Boubacar Traore was credited with forcing. This was, statistically, one of the most dominant performances of the season so far.
The Negatives
And yet Notre Dame made the game look far closer on the scoreboard than it should have been for long stretches, thanks to six penalties for 55 yards, three failed fourth down attempts, and a mediocre 5 of 8 mark in the red zone. Ashton Craig and the interior line were stuffed on back to back short yardage attempts near the goal line in the second quarter, forcing Notre Dame to settle for a field goal on a drive that should have been a touchdown, and Jadarian Price was stopped for no gain on a fourth and one that could have salted the game away far earlier than it actually ended. Marcus Freeman's blunt postgame message, telling his team to simply stop beating Notre Dame, was as pointed a piece of criticism as he has offered all season, and it is entirely deserved given how many free opportunities the team left on the field against a clearly inferior opponent.
A weather delay added an unusual wrinkle to the day, but it does not excuse the discipline issues that crept back into the team's performance after a cleaner effort against Arkansas two weeks ago.
Who Shined
CJ Carr's 342 yard, two touchdown day was his best passing performance of the season to this point, and Notre Dame's defense continued its turnaround with three more interceptions, giving the unit real momentum heading into next week's showdown with USC, the biggest game of the season so far. Leonard Moore's expanded role and Boubacar Traore's forced fumble were the individual highlights of the defensive effort.
Who Disappointed
Ashton Craig and the interior offensive line's short yardage struggles were the clear low point of an otherwise dominant win, and the overall red zone execution left points on the field that should have put the game away far sooner. Freeman's stop beating Notre Dame comment makes clear that the coaching staff views this as a self inflicted problem rather than anything NC State was doing well, and it is a fair critique of a team that had more than enough talent to win far more comfortably than it did.
