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The Fighting Irish hype train has boarded and is ready to take off, as Notre Dame goes on the road for their first real game of the season to take on NC State in Raleigh.
Broadcast information:
Date: Saturday, September 9
Time: 12 pm EST
Where: North Carolina State, Carter-Finley Stadium
T.V.: ABC
On the Call: Sean McDonough (the play-by-play), Greg McElroy (color analyst), and Molly McGrath (sideline).
Radio: The Wolfpack broadcast will be on 98.7 FM in Raleigh. For the ND broadcast it will be on 960 WSBT-AM/101.5WNSA-FM in South Bend.
What's at stake?
Notre Dame comes into the game with a 2-0 record, beating Navy (42-3) and TN State (56-3). Coming in as the 10 ranked team in the country the hype continues to grow for this year’s Fighting Irish team. ND is led by Wake Forest transfer QB Sam Hartman who has been excellent this season with 445 yards, 6 TD’s, and no interceptions. This should be ND's first real test of the season, and with the Irish having college football playoff aspirations nothing short of a win will do. A loss here and ND will need to be perfect for their remaining games of the season, with Duke, OSU, USC, and Clemson on the schedule that’s a lot to ask.
NC State enters the game with a 1-0 record, beating UCONN in week 1 24-14. The Wolfpack are looking to improve on their 2022 season after going only 8-5. If NC State could walk away with a win, it would be a great way to start off their season. A win here would give the Wolfpack a win over a top-10 team and would put them in a good position for a trip to the ACC championship. NC's offense is led by QB Brennan Armstrong, who was one of the top passers in the 2021 season at Virginia. Armstrong has been reunited with his Virginia OC Robert Anae when NC hired him in December of 2022
Key players - Notre Dame
Even with the season, Sam Hartman is having ND still likes to control the line of scrimmage and time of possession making running back Audric Estime and his offensive line key to ND's game plan in this matchup.
Key Players - NC State
If NC State is going to pull the upset, they’re going to need QB Brennan Armstrong and RB Jordan Houston to step up and play big.
Key matchups:
Notre Dame vs. Carter-Finley Stadium
Carter-Finley Stadium is labeled as one of the toughest places to play in the ACC, since 2017 NC State has a home record of 33-7. Hartman is in his first year at ND after being at Wake Forest and has a record of 1-2 vs. NC State with both losses coming at Carter-Finley Stadium. The ND offense will need to battle the noise for the first time this season, with this being their first real road game. How ND deals with the noise could end up being a story all night.
RB Audric Estime vs NC State run defense.
Even with Sam Hartman at QB Marus Freeman wants to pound the rock and ND has the running back to do it in Audric Estime. In two games Estime has piled up 211 yards, 2 TD’s on only 29 carries giving him an average of 7.28 yards per carry. If NC State can’t stop the run, the Irish will use it to counteract the crowd noise essentially taking home-field advantage away from NC State.
Prediction:
Notre Dame enters the game as 7.5 favorites, the only problem is they have yet to play a real opponent who can test them. This will be Hartman's first real test and all the pressure will be on ND to show the hype is real. NC State can come in and play loose and free, if you don’t think that matters just ask Clemson. Notre Dame fans have been on the hype train since the Navy game ended but they're about to get off.
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