Running Back: The Irish started by attacking through the air, then went to the ground when they had the lead. Darius Walker ended up with 86 yards and a TD. James Aldridge continued to run tough, this times for 45 yards and a 5.6 YPC average.
Fullback: No touches from the fullback spot, and it looks like Coach Weis is developing this into a H-Back spot out of necessity. John Carlson and Marcus Freeman either lined up in the backfield or motioned there at least once in this game.
Receiver: Another quiet day for Jeff Samardzija - only 6 catches. Oh yeah, he also had 177 yards and broke the Notre Dame receiving touchdown record. Rhema McKnight had 6 for 56. McKnight continues to be a scoring threat, adding 2 TDs to his total. Oh, and Chase Anastasio threw in a catch for good measure.
Tight End:
Do you think the scouts have noticed John Carlson yet? If not, do you think 8 catches, 91 yards, and this TD helped?
O-Line: Stupid mistakes throughout, but this unit has taken enough crap this year. Let's just be happy with the win.
D-Line:
It seemed like these guys knew the snap count. That, or North Carolina has a center and two guards who don't realize that they're actually allowed to move. Derek Landri was in the backfield all day. He finished with 3.5 TFL, half a sack, and a blocked extra point. Trevor Laws added 3 tackles and a block of his own. Victor Abiamiri had 2 sacks, while Chris Frome had the other half of Landri's sack.
Linebacker: Maurice Crum did some snap count-jumping of his own, and he led the team with 9 tackles.
Safety: Well, Tom Zbikowski had 7 tackles.
Cornerback: Notre Dame's opponents should start inviting their 12-year-old sons to play NCAA Football 2007 at gameplanning meetings. The 12-year-old Playstation offense, at least for me, consisted solely of "go" routes and trick plays - the exact Achilles heels of the Irish defense.
Kicker: Carl Gioia chipped in a 27 yarder on his lone attempt.
Punter: Geoff Price averaged 45.8 yards on 5 punts.
Kick Returner: David Grimes had a nice 50 yard return, and totaled 101 yards on 3 returns.
Punt Returner: Hey, that Tom Zbikowski kid is pretty good too. Zbikowski finally got proper - and legal - blocking, and he took a kick 52 yards to the house.
Special Teams: The North Carolina return averages were pretty good, so I'll just ignore those and name names. Casey Cullen and Kyle McCarthy each recorded 2 special teams tackles.
