3 Stars: Notre Dame-UNC
North Carolina didn’t trail No. 2 Notre Dame until midway through the third quarter, but the No. 19 Tar Heels’ inability to move the ball ended up costing them in a 31-17 loss Friday at Kenan Stadium.
UNC led 7-0, 14-7 and 17-14, but it managed just three points over its final nine possessions and finished with just 298 yards compared to 478 for the Fighting Irish.
Carolina dropped to 6-3 while Notre Dame improved to 9-0.
Here are our 3 Stars from the game:
Chazz Surratt
Surratt had only seven tackles, but he was all over the place and forced Notre Dame to focus plenty of its resources in blocking him. This was a physical performance from Surratt, who also had some big plays, registering a sack and nearly made a potentially huge play when Irish QB Ian Book converted a dangerous shovel pass in the fourth quarter. This was a really solid overall performance by the senior linebacker.
Kyler McMichael
The sophomore cornerback turned in a nice performance after being out with an injury. He covered well, was physical and led (with Surratt) the Tar Heels with seven tackles on the day, five of which were solo. He also had a PBU and a QB hurry.
Ben Kiernan
Punters can be weapons, and Kiernan’s leg helped keep the Tar Heels close in this one. The sophomore punted seven times for an average of 50.6 yards, five times forcing the Irish to start a possession inside their own 20-yard-line, and three times booting the ball for 50 or more yards.
Also receiving votes: Sam Howell and Dyami Brown.