The Irish beat NC State 36–7, their fourth straight win, in a game that was as dominant statistically as it was uneven in execution. Notre Dame outgained the Wolfpack 485 to 233, held them to just 51 rushing yards, and forced three interceptions. Yet the scoreboard never quite reflected how lopsided the game felt because of all the self-inflicted wounds that continue to linger.
Marcus Freeman didn’t hide behind the box score. “Stop beating Notre Dame,” he said — a blunt message for a team that, once again, made a blowout look harder than it needed to be.
Winning Big, Playing Small
It was the kind of game that tells two stories. On one hand, Notre Dame controlled every phase — more yards, more first downs, more time of possession (31:13 to 28:47). On the other, they couldn’t get out of their own way for the entire first half. The Irish committed six penalties for 55 yards, failed on three fourth-down attempts, and finished just 5-for-8 in the red zone.
“We didn’t play our best game,” Freeman admitted afterward. “It wasn’t perfect. There’s plays and situations we have to clean up if we want to reach our full potential.”
The Red Zone woes aren’t new for the Irish, either. Notre Dame failed on a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line last week against Boise State as well. The Irish are now just 5 of 14 on the season on fourth down.
Freeman pointed to other missed opportunities rather than focus just on Notre Dame’s fourth down failures, though. “It’s not the fourth-down plays — it’s the plays leading up to that. You can’t put yourself behind the sticks,” he said.
When Notre Dame wasn’t beating itself, the offense looked every bit like the one that flashed the last three weeks. CJ Carr threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, hitting KK Smith and Will Pauling on back-to-back third-quarter scoring drives that blew the game open. It marked Carr’s second 300-yard passing effort of the season — the first Irish quarterback to do that in multiple games since Jack Coan in 2021.
Playmakers Deliver, Even Through the Mistakes
The strong individual performances were all over the box score for the Irish. Eli Raridon posted career highs with seven catches for 109 yards, becoming the first Irish tight end to top 100 yards since Mitchell Evans in 2023. Will Pauling added 105 yards and a touchdown, his third straight game finding the end zone. Jeremiyah Love paced the ground attack with 86 yards and two scores, moving into a tie with Kyren Williams for ninth in school history with 31 total touchdowns.
And yet, for every chunk play, there was a flag, a misfire, or a short-yardage failure to balance it out. Notre Dame averaged a healthy 6.8 yards per play but still another 21 points on the field with two failed redzone fourth down attempts and a Jadarian Price fumble at the NC State 1-yard line.
Freeman said afterward, the solution isn’t a spark or a speech — it’s work. “There’s not a moment you say, that’s it. It’s just continuously hard work, evaluation, and corrections,” he said. “If our guys think it’s one moment, they’ll think we’re good now. It’s not — it’s the work you put in that gives you a chance to play that way.”
Defense Keeps Setting the Standard
While the offense continues to chase perfection, the defense has quietly righted the sinking ship that surrendered 41 points and chunk play after chunk play to Texas A&M. NC State managed one touchdown — a 45-yard strike in the second quarter — and nothing else. The Wolfpack’s final nine drives: five punts, three interceptions, and a safety.
Adon Shuler, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, and Karson Hobbs each picked off a pass. Boubacar Traore registered two sacks for 21 yards, while Jalen Stroman and Elijah Hughes added one apiece. In total, Notre Dame finished with four sacks, five tackles for loss, and another game with three takeaways or more — their third straight.
Freeman praised coordinator Chris Ash and the defensive leadership afterward: “You come together, double down, fix it. And that’s what they did. This is our defense. It’s ours. The buy-in you’re seeing now is the reflection of that,” Freeman said.
The result: Notre Dame has now gone eight of its last ten quarters without allowing a point.
A Good Team Still Learning How to Be Great
At 4–2, Notre Dame is trending up. The defense looks like it could be elite again, though it would be premature to just anoint the defense as fully back just yet. Carr is growing more confident each week. And the locker room has clearly bought into Freeman’s “clarity and violence” mantra. But the polish still isn’t there.
“You have to train your mind to focus on the moment,” Freeman said. “A lot of people look at the big picture — we can’t. We have to focus on what’s in front of us.”
The Irish can win comfortably against teams like NC State while working through the mistakes. Against better opponents down the stretch, those same miscues — the penalties, the missed red-zone chances, the lapses in focus — will eventually matter.
Freeman’s challenge summed it up perfectly. “Stop beating Notre Dame.”
Do that, and a season that looked lost as the Irish stared an 0-2 record in the face a month ago could still end the way the Irish want it to.
