Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-01 · by Aaron Beard The Associated Press
Notre Dame, ranked third nationally, faces North Carolina on Saturday with a revamped rushing game following the departure of two NFL-bound running backs from last season. Notre Dame's new starters, Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr., have been effective but lack the explosive performances of their predecessors Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Coach Marcus Freeman remains optimistic about the current rushing attack's potential for improvement.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-01,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Notre Dame relied on a pair of NFL-bound running backs last year to nearly reach the College Football Playoff.
asserted
Dame → rely → Playoff
The third-ranked Fighting Irish have a different-looking ground game for Saturday’s game at North Carolina.
asserted
Irish → rank → Carolina
Notre Dame (4-0) ranks 98th in the Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense at 141.8 yards entering the matchup with the Tar Heels (2-1), with junior Aneyas Williams and sophomore Nolan James Jr. each starting in the backfield so far this year.
asserted
Williams → rank → backfield
Coach Marcus Freeman views that ground attack as improving.
asserted
Freeman → view → attack
“As long as the guys on the field are producing, we’ll roll them, keep them fresh, try to keep hits off of them,” he said.
asserted
he → produce → them
“But we’re also not going to probably roll them every series just because we want to kind of get them in a rhythm.”
asserted
we → go → rhythm
They’ve offered effective play, though it lacks the explosion that came with last year’s duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.
asserted
that → offer → Love
Love was the nation’s No. 5 rusher (114.3) and ran for 18 touchdowns before becoming the third overall pick in the NFL draft.
asserted
Love → run → draft
Price ran for 674 yards and 11 scores before going with the last pick of the first round.
asserted
Price → run → round
With those two leading the way, Notre Dame ranked 17th nationally (203.4) in rushing offense.
asserted
Dame → lead → offense
Williams started the first three games and leads the Irish in rushing with 224 yards, highlighted by running for 90 yards and two touchdowns in the opener against Wisconsin and then 80 yards with a score last week against Purdue.
asserted
Williams → start → Purdue
Jones broke loose for 121 yards and a score against Michigan State, then started the Purdue game.
asserted
Jones → break → game
“For the two guys we’ve got, the one thing they’ll do is they’ll go north and south,” Freeman said.
asserted
Freeman → get → guys
Tar Heels aim to connect downfield
North Carolina emerges from an open week trying to figure out how to connect more consistently downfield.
asserted
Carolina → aim → week
Transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. is coming off a loss at Clemson in which he threw for just 135 yards while completing 13 of 30 passes (43.3%) as the Tar Heels squandered a two-touchdown lead.
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Heels → come → lead
He completed 57.1% (16 of 28) against TCU in the team’s other game against an FBS foe.
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He → complete → foe
“In the end, it’s team execution,” coach Bill Belichick said.
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Belichick → ’ → end
“It doesn’t all come back to one guy, even though everybody wants to focus on the quarterback.
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everybody → come → quarterback
There are other things that we need to do better. ...
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we → be → that
That’s what we’re working on and we’ll keep working on it.”
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we → ’ → it
Irish’s defense will offer a test for UNC
Generating more downfield won’t be easy.
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Generating → offer → downfield
Notre Dame’s defense is ranked 11th nationally in scoring (17.6) and 22nd in total defnese (313.5).
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defense → rank → defnese
“Notre Dame’s tough, they haven’t given up many big plays so we’re going to have to execute well to make those happen,” Belichick said.
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Belichick → ’ → plays
“That’s certainly part of the plan, I’m just saying it’s not easy against them — at least it hasn’t been, they’ve done a good job.
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they → ’ → job
The frequency of penalty flags will be a factor to watch
Notre Dame and North Carolina have avoided many self-inflicted mistakes.
asserted
Dame → watch → mistakes
The Irish are the least-penalized team in FBS play through four games, being whistled for 10 penalties through four games (2.5 average).
asserted
Irish → penalize → games
They also lead the country by averaging just 26.5 yards in penalties per game.
asserted
They → lead → game
Their 31.7 yards per game is ranked fourth in FBS, while their 13 penalties through three games (4.3) is 11th.
asserted
penalties → rank → games
Williams said that he took one for the team, actually the offensive line, with a celebration penalty in the Michigan State game.
asserted
he → say → game
Williams said that his offensive line suggested a “Crank the Lawnmower” celebration after his touchdown against the Spartans, though it triggered a penalty.
uncertain
it → say → penalty
“They owe me one,” Williams said of his offensive line.
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Williams → owe → line
When Williams ran to the Fighting Irish sidelines, he was confronted by Freeman, who looked upset about the penalty.
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who → run → penalty
Freeman later apologized to Williams and to his mother for the incident.
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Freeman → apologize → incident
“He knows I’m a mama’s boy, so that’s the first person he thought about,” Williams said of Freeman’s apology of his mother.
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Williams → know → mother
“My mom knows.
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mom → know → ?
She can handle it.”
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She → handle → it
___
AP freelance writer Curt Rallo in South Bend, Indiana, contributed to this report.
asserted
Rallo → contribute → report
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