No. 16 Notre Dame is coming off three straight wins and playing as well as it has all season.
Those who believe in momentum would certainly say that the Fighting Irish have it on their side.
Count Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman among the believers. He will look for Notre Dame (3-2) to maintain its momentum when it plays North Carolina State (4-2) on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.
“I think as you look back at something, you believe in momentum,” Freeman said. “You say, ‘Man, we gained some momentum.’ I believe there’s a confidence that helps with momentum that success brings you.
“But I don’t believe you can rely on momentum to achieve an outcome that you want. I believe you achieve the desired outcome by the work you put in every single day.”
The work continues as the Fighting Irish try to increase their winning streak to four games. They are coming off a 28-7 win over Boise State, which followed wins over Arkansas and Purdue during the previous two weeks.
NC State also is hoping to build on a successful game a week ago. The Wolfpack cruised to a 56-10 win over Campbell, which snapped a two-game skid after losses against Duke and Virginia Tech.
Quarterback CJ Bailey leads a high-powered offense for NC State. He has completed 74.6 percent of his passes for 1,660 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions through six games and he has added 78 yards and three scores on the ground.
Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren praised Bailey and said he could get even better.
“When you have a quarterback playing like ours, you’ve got a chance to win every game,” Doeren said. “He’s playing at a high level. And, if you ask him, he’s got a lot of improvement he can still make. He’s really hard (on himself), he’s very competitive on himself and he wants to play as well as he humanly can to help his team win.”
Bailey leads a balanced passing attack that includes seven players with 100-plus receiving yards. Terrell Anderson leads the group with 388 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Notre Dame also is enjoying a breakout season from its quarterback, CJ Carr, who has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 1,280 yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions. He has punched in one rushing touchdown.
Jordan Faison has a team-high 327 receiving yards to go along with two touchdowns for the Fighting Irish. But the focus for the Wolfpack on defense might be stopping Notre Dame’s potent one-two rushing attack featuring Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.
Through five games, Love has rushed for 444 yards and six touchdowns. Price has rushed for 356 yards and seven touchdowns.
“The two running backs, super impressive on film and what you’d expect when you play them,” Doeren said. “Both run hard. (They) have different running styles, but hard to tackle.”
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Notre Dame and North Carolina State. The series is tied at 2-2, with the Fighting Irish winning the most recent matchup 45-24 on Sept. 9, 2023.
