Notre Dame found its offense two weeks ago - just in time to get a one-side win over North Carolina at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill.

The 45-32 win brought the Irish to the .500 mark (2-2) on the young season under head coach Marcus Freeman. ND took control of the game in the second quarter when the running game dominated play and the Irish scored 24 points. That scoring spree was enough for the Irish to pretty much coast the rest of the way.

In addition to the 45 points the Irish put up, they missed two other chances to score - turning the ball over on downs at the NC 15 and also fumbling the ball at the goal line.

QB Drew Pyne played a creditable game and showed some poised in the win. He also showed he can run with the ball when needed.

Pyne’s play caught the eye of most Irish fans. Although his performance was not the type that projected him to be the next “star quarterback” for Notre Dame it was a big step forward for him as he settles in the the QB position for the remainder of the season.

Freeman had this to say about Pyne’s performance, “Today he continued to make good decisions and he executed. He put the ball where it needed to be and some guys made some plays.”

Another factor on the plus side for the offense was that ND got All-American tight end Michael Mayer more catches and more into the playbook. Running backs Chris Tyree and Logan Diggs also contributed to the ND offense.

Defensively, the Irish made enough plays to get the win, but obviously there is a lot of work to do yet. Letting the other team come up with big plays when their back are to the wall is not acceptable. ND allowed NC two major pass completions that should never have happened - 80 and 64-yarders. NC came into the game averaging 51.3 points per game. ND pretty well shutdown the Tar Heels running game but QB Drake Maye had 301 passing yards and five TDs to keep his averages in tact.

Linebacker Jack Kiser led the Irish defense with a career high nine tackles, seven of them coming in the first quarter. After NC’s initial score, the Irish defense was able to hold the Tar Heels offense by forcing punts on the next three possessions in just 11 plays.

More game stats later.

Tonight, the Irish resume their Shamrock Series of game - home games played at other sites. BYU comes into the contest at 4-1 and ranked 16th in the nation. The Cougars have a balanced attack but still like to throw the football a lot.

The game is the 11th of the Shamrock Series. ND had never lost a Shamrock Series game.

BYU has wins over South Florida, 50-21; Baylor, 26-20; Wyoming, 38-24; and Utah State, 38-26. The lone defeat was to Oregon, 41-20.

ND leads the series, 6-2. The two teams last played in 2013 with ND winning, 23-13, in South Bend.

Since this is technically a home game, NBC will broadcast it nationally from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with a 7:30 p.m. airtime and kickoff about 7:40 p.m.

IRISH NOTES ... Some stats from the NC game. Audric Estime led all rushers with 134 yards on 17 carries and two TDs; followed by Chris Tyree with 80 yards on 15 carries and a score; and Diggs with 50 yards on 10 carries. ND had 302 yards rushing in the contest. Pyne completed 24 of 33 attempts for 289 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. Mayer led all receivers with 88 yards on seven catches and a score. He was followed by Lorenzo Styles with 69 yards on five catches and a score ... Defensively, as we noted, Kiser had nine tackles followed by Maarist Liufau with six and Isaiah Foskey and Rylie Mills, five each ... The 0-2 Irish start to the season - that included an upset at the hands 20-plus point underdog Masrshall - had Irish fans wondering if Freeman’s highly-ranked recruiting class for 2023 was holding steady. According to a article in the South Bend Tribune the Irish have had no defections since the season began. In fact, the article notes that the recruits are keeping in touch with each other and keeping the faith in Freeman and ND ... ND has a chance to rack up its third win in a row and also beat a ranked team for the first time and under Freeman tonight ... Players to watch for the Cougars are Gunner Romney, wide receiver. He’s very fast and projected to be a high pick in the NFL draft. Defensively, linebacker Max Tooley, who has scored more touchdowns off interception returns this season than all of the Irish wide receivers combined, is a force the Irish need to account for .... As you probably saw, ND will be wearing special uniforms for tonight’s game ... Irish defensive tackle Jacob Lacey announced on Thursday that he will enter the transfer portal. This means Lacey will no longer be a part of the football program, and will take a redshirt year so he’ll have this year of eligibility available at his next destination. He will have two years of eligibility to use now with this season and the COVID exemption for 2020. Freeman was brief with his comments about Lacey. He said, “He’s no longer a part of the team. He will look to transfer probably at the end of the season after the semester is over. That’s about it.” Lacey was listed as a second-string player on the depth chart, but because of the Irish depth at the position, he played just nine snaps against Carolina ... ND is favored by 3.5 points tonight despite the fact that BYU is ranked 16th in the nation and the Irish are unranked. The Cougars are also 4-1 compared to 2-2 for ND ... In my preseason picks I have ND edging BYU for a victory. I will stay with that pick. This game could go down to the wire. ND returns home next week to host Stanford in another night game.