NC State needs to find two wins in the back half of the schedule to get bowl eligible—or one win, if you assume Dave goes into retirement in style with a big win over UNC and interim head coach Steve Belichick to cap the regular season. The Wolfpack is probably not going to locate one of those wins in South Bend.
Notre Dame has the No. 3 offense in the country, according to SP+, so it’s going to be a tough ask for State’s banged up defense to keep the Pack in this one. Notre Dame is favored by 22.5 points after opening as a 21.5-point favorite on Sunday.
One thing’s for sure: if NC State is going to have a chance, it has to force some turnovers. The defense has now gone three straight games without a takeaway, so … we’re due? Gonna need about four of ‘em. It’s tough to imagine the Pack putting up enough resistance otherwise.