Notre Dame Football: 5 Reasons the Irish will beat NC State in Week 9

4 of 6

SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 21: Matt Fink #19 of the USC Trojans runs the ball against Julian Okwara #42 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the third quarter of a game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame won 49-14. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3. A strong defensive effort will lead Notre Dame to victory

Through eight weeks, the Fighting Irish have only given up one rushing touchdown. It was to Georgia’s Sony Mitchell all the way back in Week 2. Notre Dame also has allowed a total of 115 points this season and haven’t allowed a team to score more than 20 points in a single game. For a team like NC State, who has more rushing touchdowns than passing on the season, that is a troublesome fact.

This Notre Dame defense has the ability to be one of the best in college football and a strong performance against NC State will definitely help them.

The Irish are the ONLY team in the country to have not allowed more than 1️⃣ red zone rushing touchdown.#GoIrish ☘ pic.twitter.com/vNFpR6pPkZ
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 17, 2017

Notre Dame ranks fourth nationally in turnover margin and have forced a punt or a turnover on the first possession of each game this season. They are also third nationally in fumbles recovered with 10 so far.

On the opposite side, North Carolina State leads the country in fewest turnovers lost. They have only had three so far this season. Something has to give and I think NC State’s number of turnovers is about to increase by at least three. Look for the Irish to get points off of those too, scoring 94 points so far this season due to them.

Home/Notre Dame Fighting Irish