No. 16 Notre Dame piles on ealry, dispatches NC State

CJ Carr completed 19 of 31 passes for 342 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and No. 16 Notre Dame pulled away for a 36-7 win over North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.

Jeremiyah Love rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns for Notre Dame (4-2), which won its fourth game in a row. Will Pauling had 105 receiving yards and a touchdown.

CJ Bailey completed 17 of 30 passes for 186 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions for North Carolina State (4-3, 1-2 ACC). Terrell Anderson had 57 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The Fighting Irish outgained the Wolfpack 485-233.

Notre Dame opened the scoring early in the first quarter. Love punched through the middle of the line of scrimmage and scored standing up for a 2-yard touchdown.

North Carolina State pulled even at 7-all with 13:48 to go in the second quarter. Bailey fired a strike down the right sideline for Anderson, who caught the pass around the 15-yard line and jogged into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown.

The Fighting Irish took a 10-7 lead on Noah Burnette's 48-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Malachi Fields caught a 20-yard pass with 12 seconds remaining to set up the score.

Carr threw his first touchdown pass of the game to put Notre Dame on top 17-7 midway through the third quarter. He connected with KK Smith for an 18-yard touchdown.

Carr struck again with a 12-yard touchdown pass, this time to Pauling, on Notre Dame's next possession. The play gave Notre Dame a 24-7 lead with 2:46 to go in the third quarter.

Burnette added a 34-yard field goal to make it 27-7 with 12:48 remaining.

The Fighting Irish put the game out of hand with a safety and a touchdown in the final 10 minutes. Bailey fumbled a snap deep in Wolfpack territory and fell on the ball for a safety with 9:37 left, and Love capped the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:13 to go.

--Field Level Media