Notre Dame vs North Carolina 10/30/21 College Football Picks and Predictions

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and North Carolina Tar Heels meet Saturday night in week 9 college football action at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame. The North Carolina Tar Heels look for a win after splitting their last four games. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish look for a win to build on their solid 6-1 record.

The North Carolina Tar Heels have split their last six road games. Sam Howell is completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 1,851 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. Josh Downs and Antoine Green have combined for 1,090 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, while Emery Simmons has 11 receptions. The North Carolina Tar Heels ground game is averaging 199.1 yards per contest, and Ty Chandler leads the way with 588 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, North Carolina is allowing 28.9 points and 379 yards per game. Jeremiah Gemmel leads the North Carolina Tar Heels with 38 tackles, Myles Murphy has four sacks and Ja’Qurious Conley has two interceptions.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have won three of their last four home games. Jack Coan is completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,397 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. Michael Mayer and Kevin Austin Jr. have combined for 770 receiving yards and six touchdowns, while Avery Davis has 20 receptions. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish ground game is averaging 106.7 yards per contest, and Kyren Williams leads the way with 508 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, Notre Dame is allowing 23.1 points and 369.7 yards per game. JD Bertrand leads the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with 65 tackles, Isaiah Foskey has 7.5 sacks and Kyle Hamilton has three interceptions.

The Tar Heels are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog. The Fighting Irish are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Tar Heels last 5 road games. The under is 4-1 in Fighting Irish last 5 home games. The road team is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 meetings.

The North Carolina Tar Heels need to be better defensively to have a chance in this spot on the road, but they have the offensive firepower to hang around and have had an extra week to prepare. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are finding ways to score despite no running game, but they will be without NFL caliber safety Kyle Hamilton due to a leg injury. I still like Notre Dame and the reasonable chalk, as the Irish are the more balanced team here, and they beat up on UNC last November on the road. I don’t believe the Tar Heels can match Notre Dame’s physical style of play.