Oct 4, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Leonard Moore (15) rips the ball away from Boise State Broncos wide receiver Chris Marshall (5) during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Notre Dame vs NC State: Why the Irish Should Be Confident

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By John Kennedy | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 5:05 AM ET

Notre Dame enters a crucial two-game window

It feels like the football season has just started, and here we are talking about Notre Dame's sixth game of the year already.

And speaking of game six, this is the first of two tests for the Irish before they hit their second off week and recalibrate for the home stretch.

Notre Dame must resist any natural urge to look ahead to next week's battle with USC and focus completely and entirely on the NC State Wolfpack. Speaking of said game, there are plenty of reasons to feel confident in the Irish in this battle.

Notre Dame opened as a 22.5-point favorite for a reason

Even though this game is at home, I was surprised to see the Irish open as a 22.5-point, favorite in this contest. I suspect this spread has a lot to do with how Notre Dame has looked the last few weeks, combined with some of the warts NC State has shown so far this season.

NC State has logged wins against Campbell, Wake Forest, Virginia, and East Carolina, with losses coming at the hands of Duke and Virginia Tech. To me, this schedule is hard to gauge accurately, as I don't see any of these teams as high-level measuring sticks for the Wolfpack.

What I see in NC State is a team that has been up and down this year against a very average schedule and one that the Irish should be able to handle at home, a position Las Vegas seems to agree with.

Making a name for himself ☘️

CJ Carr has been added to the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Watch List #GoIrish☘️ | @MaxwellFootball | @13Cjcarr pic.twitter.com/KLDJRaovks
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 7, 2025

CJ Carr will have a sharp day in Notre Dame Stadium

After a few games where the offense was locked in and went off, the Irish offense cooled off a bit last week against Boise State. CJ Carr had what many consider to be an off day, in which he threw for two TDs, had no interceptions, but missed on a few passes that he normally connects on and will need to next week to beat USC.

I expect CJ Carr to get locked back in this week against the Wolpack and for the passing game to look great again. The Irish offense overall was due for a "cool off game," and I think NC State will catch the brunt of the Irish rebound.

Notre Dame's run game will shine

While I'm confident Notre Dame's pass game will look tighter this week, the engine of the Irish offense is the run game with Jeremiyah Love and JD Price. Mike Denbrock should be able to get the dynamic duo rolling early in this game, setting up CJ Carr for passes downfield.

This game is one Notre Dame must win, and do so handily and healthily, with USC coming to South Bend next week, and I expect the Irish to do just that.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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