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Notre Dame fired Brian VanGorder nearly two weeks ago. That was supposed to fix the defense. So, what happened against Syracuse? The Fighting Irish took care of business, racking up nearly 700 yards of offense and beating the Orange 51-33, but in the process the team allowed 483 yards, showing that the issues don’t just go away on defense when you fire the coordinator. 2-3 is not where the the Fighting Irish want to be, but it’s a helluva lot better than being 1-4.
NC State had yet to face a decent opponent all season but took care of one of 2016’s surprise teams (Wake Forest) last week, winning 33-16 and racking up 527 yards in the process. Running back Matthew Dayes has rushed for 5.8 yards per carry this season and the efficiency has led the Wolfpack to a 3-1 record.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: Noon ET, ABC. The broadcasters are Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, and Tom Luginbill.
Radio: Notre Dame and NC State
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: NC State is a favorite, but it’s by a slim margin. Our friends in the desert have the Wolfpack as a 1.5-point favorite.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation's team blog chats for this game at Backing The Pack (for Wolfpack folks) and One Foot Down (for Fighting Irish fans).
Three big things to know
- Since winning the job full-time, quarterback DeShone Kizer has led a high-octane offensive attack for the Fighting Irish, throwing for more that 300 yards in the last three games and eclipsing 13 yards per attempt in the shootout against Syracuse. The biggest beneficiary is Equanimeous St. Brown. He only had four catches Saturday, but on those four receptions he went for 182 receiving yards and two catches. Not bad.
- One thing Notre Dame did do well defensively against Syracuse was stopping the Orange on third down. Syracuse went 3-of-15 on third down last Saturday. NC State enters the matchup as the No. 2 team in the nation on third down, converting 55 percent of the time.
- Starting Wolfpack safety Shawn Boone will serve a targeting suspension during the first half of Saturday’s game and the team will need to replace him against a Notre Dame passing attack that will not pull punches. From Backing The Pack:
On NC State’s updated depth chart, the starter in his place is listed as either Jarius Morehead or Dexter Wright. There isn’t a lot of depth in State’s secondary, and that’s plain enough in this case: Morehead has played only 33 snaps at safety this season, while Wright has yet to appear in a game at safety.
Notre Dame also has some juggling in its secondary depth chart, with freshman Julian Love becoming a starter at cornerback. There's a youth movement throughout the ND secondary. From One Foot Down:
His new back-up is fellow freshman Donte Vaughn, who has also looked great in his increased playing time of-late. To continue this youth trend in the secondary, freshman Troy Pride is now in the two-deep behind Luke, and along with freshman starter Devin Studstill at free safety and back-up safeties Jalen Elliott (freshman) and Nicco Fertitta (sophomore), makes for a very young and inexperienced, but also very athletic, secondary.