Notre Dame overcame an early deficit and defeated UNC 37-26 in rainy conditions at Kenan Stadium on Saturday. Notre Dame's quarterback C.J. Carr led the team with four touchdown passes, while UNC initially took the lead but struggled to maintain it as Notre Dame dominated the second half. Despite a strong start by UNC, who scored first and briefly tied the game, Notre Dame’s resilience and Carr’s performance secured their victory, keeping them undefeated for the season.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-03,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Notre Dame, ranked third in the nation at 5-0, faced North Carolina (2-2) in a crucial matchup on October 14. The game started poorly for Notre Dame as North Carolina took an early lead, scoring a touchdown to go up 7-0. However, after halftime, quarterback CJ Carr threw four touchdowns and ran for another while the Irish gained dominance with their ground attack. Led by Nolan James Jr.'s strong rushing performance and CJ Carr's precision passing, Notre Dame achieved a season-best 241 yards in rushing offense, crucial for securing their 37-26 victory. This win extended Notre Dame’s unbeaten streak to 15 games, demonstrating the team’s resilience and physicality under challenging weather conditions.
Written for “Notre Dame vs UNC Football” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Notre Dame survived a brief scare from UNC to win 37-26 in rainy conditions on Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.
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Dame → survive → Stadium
Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr starred in the win, completing 21 of his 29 passes for 234 yards with four touchdown passes while rushing for 15 yards and a touchdown.
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Carr → star → yards
Star wide receiver Jordan Faison hauled in eight passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
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Faison → haul → yards
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
While No. 3 Notre Dame ended up cruising to victory with a strong second half, UNC started fast.
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UNC → end → half
The Tar Heels forced a punt on Notre Dame’s first possession of the game and then marched down the field on a seven-play, 74-yard drive that ended with quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. connecting with Shamar Easter on a 6-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0.
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Jr. → force → pass
Notre Dame scored 21 straight points.
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Dame → score → points
The Fighting Irish responded with a touchdown drive, then intercepted Edwards on the first play of UNC’s ensuing possession deep in Tar Heel territory.
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Irish → respond → territory
On the first play after Edwards’ interception, Notre Dame quarterback Carr found Jaden Greathouse for a 12-yard touchdown to go up 14-7.
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Carr → find → touchdown
Edwards then threw another interception, this time in Notre Dame territory, and the Fighting Irish quickly went down the field to go up 21-7 on Carr’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Faison.
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Irish → throw → Faison
It looked like Notre Dame was going to roll.
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Dame → look → ?
Up 21-7 with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter, the Fighting Irish went for the kill shot.
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Irish → leave → shot
At the UNC 3-yard line, Notre Dame went for it on fourth-and-goal.
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Dame → go → fourth
However, the UNC defense stood tall, forcing an incompletion and a turnover on downs.
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defense → stand → downs
The Tar Heels’ offense then put together its best drive of the day, going 97 yards in 15 plays, using more than seven minutes off the clock and scoring a touchdown just before halftime.
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offense → put → halftime
Edwards connected with Jelani Thurman for a 14-yard touchdown, making it a 21-14 game.
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it → connect → touchdown
UNC got the ball first after halftime and came out firing, as Jaden Jefferson returned the opening kickoff of the second half 98 yards for a touchdown.
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Jefferson → get → touchdown
However, in the rainy conditions, the snap from the long snapper was errant, and UNC did not convert the extra point, leaving the score at 21-20.
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UNC → convert → 21
Notre Dame answered with a mammoth 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that included three separate fourth-down conversions.
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that → answer → conversions
Carr, battling through the rain, scrambled outside the pocket and scored from 3 yards out on fourth-and-goal.
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Carr → battle → fourth
However, Notre Dame then scored again, this time without as much drama, on an eight-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Nolan James Jr.
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Dame → score → Jr.
This time, the extra point was successful, putting Notre Dame up 34-20 early in the fourth quarter.
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point → put → quarter
Notre Dame then scored again, this time without as much drama, on an eight-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Nolan James Jr.
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Dame → score → Jr.
This time, the extra-point was successful, putting Notre Dame up 34-20 early in the fourth quarter.
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point → put → quarter
Notre Dame’s defense once again shut down North Carolina, and the offense drove down the field but this time settled for a 31-yard field goal by Spencer Porath to go up 37-20 and make it a three-score game.
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it → shut → Porath
Thurman scored his second touchdown of the game, UNC's first offensive touchdown of the second half, late in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 37-26, but at that point it was too late.
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it → score → point
Notre Dame improved to 5-0 with the win and will look to keep things rolling when they host Stanford (2-3) next Saturday.
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they → improve → Stanford
UNC falls to 2-2 with the loss, and will look to bounce back when they play Pittsburgh on the road next Saturday.
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they → fall → road
The Aporia
