Notre Dame football is now on a four-game winning streak with it’s 36-7 win over the NC State Wolfpack in Week 7. The team is gaining steam as we head into the 2025-26 season’s back stretch and it was
a pretty solid outing from the Irish, from the numbers’ angle.
Let’s see what we can pull out of the stats tables.
Scoring Context
The average differential for the Irish through their 1st six games is around +19.2 points. The +29 win over NC State places them on the high end of their general range, between +21 and +29. And for a second week in a row the Notre Dame defense held a team to just seven points.
Total Offense Context
The offense finished the game with 461 yards of total production and an average of 7.3 yards earned per play. Those stats are looking to be where they’ve at through the season’s first half.
Passing Context
Notre Dame’s passing attempts tapered off in the Boise State game but ramped back up to normal against NC State. CJ Carr took all of the game’s official QB snaps and made 31 attempts, with the season average being 28. He wasn’t that far off from previous games in terms of accuracy with 19 of the 31 attempts being completed for a 61% completion rate. All of those efforts resulted in 342 yards gained through the air and two passing touchdowns.
The Receivers
The Irish players who were catching CJ Carr’s passes looked a bit different in Week 7. Tight end Eli Raridon topped the list with seven catches for 109 yards and an average of 15.6 yards per reception. Chicago-born wide receiver Will Pauling had his biggest day so far as a Notre Dame player. Pauling recorded four receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver KK Smith logged solid numbers and walked away from the NC State matchup with three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Rushing Context
It was another solid rushing game for Notre Dame. Collectively, the team’s rushers made 37 attempts that turned into 145 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t a particularly efficient rushing day, though. They only averaged 3.9 yards per carry which put them back in the Miami (FL) and Texas A&M game range.
The Rushers
Jeremiyah Love finished Week 7 with 18 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Jadarian Price wasn’t far behind in overall production with 15 carries for 66 yards.
Defense: Passing Context
NC State threw 31 passes against Notre Dame and completed 18 of them for a 58% completion rate. But they got notably little for their efforts, falling in line with a very welcomed trend for opposing passers. The Irish defense allowed a season low of 182 yards through the air by the Wolfpack.
And probably most importantly, the defense forced three turnovers in Week 7, all by the way of interceptions. Adon Shuler (Safety), Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (Linebacker) and Karson Hobbs (Cornerback) each pulled in an interception. It was a second straight, strong game for interceptions, with the Irish having picked off Boise State four times last weekend.
Defense: Rushing Context
The defense also posted big numbers against NC State in the rushing area. They held them to 51 yards on the ground and 1.8 yards per carry.
Defense: Impactful
Defensive lineman Boubacar Traore led the defense with impactful plays. Traore finished the NC State game with two sacks and two tackles for loss. Elijah Hughes and Jalen Stroman both finished the game with one sack and one tackle for loss a-piece. Junior Tuihalamaka recorded one tackle for loss and Christian Gray tallied up two pass deflections to complement the team’s three interceptions.
Final Thoughts
An overall solid weekend of college football for Notre Dame. All big indicators are pointing in the right direction for not only this squad but the overall program, in my opinion. Now the Irish embark on their last six games with a 4-2 record and I’d argue more positive momentum than a lot of CFB’s other big name programs at this stage of the 2025-26 season.
