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

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CHAPEL HILL, NC – SEPTEMBER 02: Gerran Brown #41 and Cameron Saffle #51 of the California Golden Bears sack Brandon Harris #6 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Kenan Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. CFal won 35-30. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

5. Larry Fedora can’t stay away from Brandon Harris

To the disdain of many UNC fans, head coach Larry Fedora has failed to eliminate senior quarterback Brandon Harris from a self-imposed “controversy”. The latter has struggled greatly this season, throwing for only 276 yards accompanied by a 1-to-3 touchdown to interception ratio. Harris is likely on thin ice due to his lone throw resulting in an interception in last week’s contest, but we’ve said that before.

With Harris performing as bad as he is, one would assume that the Tar Heels have limited options at the position. However, this is not the case. Freshman Chazz Surratt, while not playing at an alarmingly high level, has proved the ability to manage most games with a little help from his teammates and coaching staff.

Surratt has thrown for almost 1,000 yards on over 63% passing thus far, and his 5/2 touchdown to interception ratio is far removed from that of Harris. It seems like an easy decision, but Fedora has been adamant on keeping Harris involved in the gameplan up to this point. While last week’s abysmal outing may move him towards a permanent bench role, Fedora’s leash for Surratt is questionably short.

This will be a tough task regardless of who takes the snaps for the Tar Heels. However, Fedora would be wise to keep Harris away from a defense that is prone to forcing turnovers. The Irish have had multiple interceptions in a couple of contests this season, and they would be more than happy to add to that total against a struggling Brandon Harris.

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