Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons the Irish will beat North Carolina

Notre Dame football enters the midway point of their regular season with a matchup against North Carolina. With the Irish in do-or-die mode due to a Week 2 loss, here are five reasons why they’ll pull off the win against the Tar Heels.

Notre Dame, in a much better position than they were heading into the halfway point last season, will kick off the second half of their season against a 1-4 UNC team. The Irish will head into their respective matchup as the favorite for the third time in as many weeks. Unlike last season, this year’s team has found the ability to put less talented teams behind them from the onset.

In turn, the Irish have managed to distance themselves from close games that proved to be their downfall last season. To emphasize the significance of Notre Dame’s ability to put games away early, the Irish lost six games by less than seven points last season, all against unranked opponents. Their victories this season have seen margins of 33, 29, 20, and 35 points.

With one of the nation’s most efficient rushing attacks in hand, Notre Dame will look to do the same against one of the country’s most inept defenses. There are many reasons as to why the Irish will come out of Chapel Hill with the win, but here are five of the more glaring ones.