CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Drew Pyne threw three touchdown passes and Notre Dame finally clicked on offense in a 45-32 victory against North Carolina on Saturday.
Audric Estime rushed for two touchdowns and 134 yards and Chris Tyree ran for 80 yards and a score for the Fighting Irish (2-2). Pyne completed 24 of 34 passes for 289 yards.
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The outcome resulted in the first road win under first-year coach Marcus Freeman.
The Tar Heels (3-1) were denied their first 4-0 start since 1997.
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North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye threw five touchdown passes, two going to Josh Downs in the first half and two more — covering 144 yards — to Antoine Green in the second half. Maye was 17-for-32 for 301 yards.
Pyne threw second-quarter touchdown passes of 10 yards to Michael Mayer and 30 yards to Lorenzo Styles. The Irish led 24-14 at halftime after Blake Grupe’s 40-yard field goal with 23 seconds left. Notre Dame held a 301-161 edge in total yards in the first half.
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The Irish went 75 yards on six plays to open the second half and extended the margin to 31-14 on Pyne’s 29-yard pass play to Logan Diggs, who was alone along the sideline and jogged into the end zone.
North Carolina fumbled on its first second-half snap when Maye dropped the ball in pass formation, giving the Irish the ball at the Tar Heels 15. One play after a fourth-down pass-interference penalty followed by an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Tar Heels coach Mack Brown, Notre Dame converted on Estime’s 1-yard lunge.
The Tar Heels took the first gamble of the game on the opening possession and it paid off with Maye’s fourth-and-goal pass of 4 yards to Downs. Maye threw for 39 yards and rushed for 33 on the opening drive. Downs had been out since he suffered a lower-body injury in the Aug. 27 opener.
Notre Dame: The Irish unleashed sustained offense, producing more than 285 yards both on the ground and in the air. After three games with tight margins into the fourth quarter, this turned out to be a relatively stress-free final 15 minutes.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels were coming off a week off, but they didn’t solve defensive woes that threatened to derail them in their previous two games. They’re done with nonconference games, so they’ll have to sort out the defensive shortcomings in ACC play.
Notre Dame: Plays BYU on Oct. 8 in Las Vegas.
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North Carolina: Plays host to Virginia Tech on Saturday.
