Notre Dame Football: 5 Reasons the Irish will beat NC State in Week 9
By Shelbie Warr
![SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 21: Brandon Wimbush #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs into the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown in the third quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame won 49-14. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)\](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fe7695ef5d51cf61e64dbbfbc000773dc2359cbb9323e2e667f8960d13ab19bf0.jpg "SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 21: Brandon Wimbush #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs into the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown in the third quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame won 49-14. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)\")
2. Notre Dame’s offense coming off biggest outing of the year
The Fighting Irish are no strangers to scoring points this season. They are 14th nationally in the red zone in red-zone offense this year, converting 28 out of 30 times and have outscored opponents 289-115 so far as well. Those are some strong numbers.
Notre Dame’s running game, something the Fighting Irish heavily rely on with a mobile quarterback and strong running back, ranks sixth nationally at 317.9 yards per game. They have scored 28 rushing touchdowns so far this season, second nationally. Josh Adams has led that charge, averaging 9.21 yards per carry. He had three rushing touchdowns, including this 89 yard beauty against USC a week ago.
STOP THE FIGHT! Josh Adams takes the carry 89 yards right up the middle for the TD! #USCvsND #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/mFEUUtFibc
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) October 22, 2017
Against USC, both running back Josh Adams and quarterback Brandon Wimbush, rushed for over 100 yards. This happened for the fourth time this season. This offense can function through the passing game too as Wimbush has thrown for eight touchdowns so far this season. However, they will need to get the running game going strong against NC State, early and often.