SOUTH BEND, Ind. — C.J. Carr threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 16 Notre Dame beat N.C. State 36-7 on Saturday for its fourth straight victory.
Carr connected on 19 of 31 passes, with TD tosses of 18 yards to K.K. Smith and 12 yards to Will Pauling in the third quarter.
Jeremiyah Love rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns for Notre Dame (4-2).
The Fighting Irish led 10-7 at halftime, then outscored the Wolfpack 26-0 in the second half.
Eli Raridon had seven catches for 109 yards, and Pauling had four catches for 105 yards as Notre Dame relied on the passing game more than its heralded 1-2 punch of Love and Jadarian Price.
“We just want to win,” Carr said. “That’s the result we want, whether it’s (Love and Price) carrying the ball, and there are times they’re going to have six touchdowns each, or we’re going to spread the field out and throw it all over the yard.”
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said that his team did not play its best game.
“My message was stop beating Notre Dame,” Freeman said of what he told his team after they held only a three-point lead at halftime. “That was the message. …. It’s easy for me to say don’t beat Notre Dame, but we have to continue to train our minds to focus in the right way and go out and execute.”
C.J. Bailey connected with Terrell Anderson on a 45-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter for the Wolfpack (4-3). Anderson did not play in the second half because of injury.
Notre Dame came up with three interceptions and hit the Wolfpack for four sacks, five tackles for a loss and a safety. N.C. State entered the game averaging 447.7 yards of total offense but managed only 233 yards Saturday.
N.C. State star running back Hollywood Smothers gained only 46 yards on 12 carries. He entered the game averaging 115.5 yards.
Coach Dave Doeren said turnovers haunted the Wolfpack.
“C.J. (Bailey) was off,” Doeren said. “We had some chances for some good throws down the field and overthrew the ball. It happens at times. If you’re in a game where they’re going to overload the box and play man-to-man, you have to be able to throw to hose down-the-field routes.”
Defense rising
Notre Dame’s defense has allowed only three touchdowns in the last three quarters. The Fighting Irish have seven interceptions in the last two games compared with five picks in the first four.
“The defense played lights out the second half — really played lights out for the majority of the game,” Freeman said.
Jump-start
Some trickery helped jump-start Notre Dame in the second half.
Leading 10-7 early in the third quarter, Notre Dame lined up for a punt on a fourth-and-2 at its 38. The Fighting Irish quickly shifted into a formation that had backup quarterback Tyler Buchner taking the snap and gaining 3 yards for a first down. Notre Dame took advantage to drive down and get first first score of the second half, the touchdown pass from Carr to Smith.
The takeaway
Notre Dame’s fourth consecutive victory should help the No. 16 Fighting Irish continue to inch their way up the rankings.
N.C. State has lost three of its last four, including setbacks against Duke and Virginia Tech before Saturday’s game at Notre Dame. A 56-10 victory over Campbell is the only bright spot for the Wolfpack in the past month.
Up next
- Notre Dame: Plays host to USC on Saturday.
- N.C. State: Plays at Pittsburgh on Oct. 25.