1 Turnover forced by Notre Dame in its two road games this season, that coming in the 23-7 loss at Michigan State, where the Irish committed three turnovers. At North Carolina, the Irish had five while the Tar Heels had none – a minus-7 disparity in those two outings.
4 Touchdowns caught by Michael Floyd this season after snaring the 7-yard score from Jimmy Clausen right before halftime. That already ties the Notre Dame freshman record for receiving TDs set by Duval Kamara in 2007.
5 Catches by Kamara against the Tar Heels for 58 yards after snaring only four for 45 yards in the first five contests. Just as significant was a potential interception he broke up – something he did not do a couple of times earlier in the year – with a hit on linebacker Bruce Carter.
5 Turnovers committed by the Irish in Chapel Hill. The last time Notre Dame committed that many in a game was during the 47-21 loss at home to Michigan in 2006.
10+ Quarters Notre Dame went without a turnover until freshman running back Jonas Gray mishandled a kickoff with nine seconds left in the first half.
11 Points North Carolina was down (17-6) before rallying to victory. It marked the first time in Charlie Weis’ three and a half seasons at Notre Dame the Irish lost while holding a double-digit advantage.
20-2 Record under Weis when ahead after the third quarter. The Irish led North Carolina 24-22 at the end of three quarters but fell behind on the first play of the fourth on Cameron Sexton’s four-yard scoring run. The other loss came to Navy last year in three overtimes after holding a 21-20 edge at the end of the third quarter.
78 The average of Notre Dame’s three touchdown drives at North Carolina. The first two were 82 and 80 yards, and the third 72.
188 Career carries before junior running back James Aldridge finally crossed the goal line, a hard-nosed two-yard run in the third quarter that helped extend Notre Dame’s lead to 24-16.
383 Yards passing by Jimmy Clausen, marking the third straight week he finished with a career high in that category. He had 347 the previous game against Stanford and 275 the week before versus Purdue.
Three Observations
Turning Point – Which would you pick? 1) Cameron Sexton completing a 3rd-and-18 pitch for 19 yards to Hakeem Nicks to the Irish 47 when Notre Dame was still leading 24-16, highlighting that Tar Heel TD drive; or 2) nose tackle Aleric Mullins’ superb individual effort to force a Jimmy Clausen fumble that set up the game-winning scoring drive from the Irish 42.
Crisis In Kicking Confidence – Notre Dame eschewed a potential game-winning 41-yard field goal on 4th and 8 last year against Navy. Versus North Carolina, it had the option to try a 44-yard field goal on 4th and 7 with the score 29-24 and about 12 minutes still left. This had to be a painfully tough call to make for Charlie Weis, especially after Walker drilled a 42-yard field goal earlier in the contest. Playing the percentages, though, the decision can be understood, even though the Irish fell three yards short of the first down.
Going For It – After falling behind 17-6 with 52 seconds left until halftime, North Carolina went right at Notre Dame with consecutive completions of 13, 10 and 18 yards from Sexton to Nicks, setting up a 42-yard field goal by Casey Barth. That pulled the Tar Heels back to within one score and had to be a crucial mental boost going into the locker room when it appeared the Irish had deflated the stadium with their previous TD drive.
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4 Touchdowns caught by 
