Quinn, Samardzija power Irish offense in easy win over UNC

 

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• Butch Davis jumps to top of list for North Carolina job

Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Jeff Samardzija caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Brady Quinn midway through the third quarter, putting Notre Dame up 19 points. Gameball goes to... Brady Quinn. The Irish QB continues to pile up Heisman-like numbers, connecting on 23-of-35 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns. Stat of the game... 26. The Tar Heels' 26 points were the most they've scored this season against a D-I opponent. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	10	23
Total Yards	244	452
Passing	213	346
Rushing	31	106
Penalties	5-56	5-35
3rd Down Conversions	4-13	8-14
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-0
Turnovers	0	1
Possession	27:47	32:13

Individual Leaders

North Carolina Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Dailey 14/22 213 3 0 Rome 0/1 0 0 0	Notre Dame Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Quinn 23/35 346 4 0 Samardzi... 0/1 0 0 0
North Carolina Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG McGill 13 61 0 35 Rome 5 11 0 5 Sexton 2 -14 0 0	Notre Dame Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Walker 20 86 1 12 Aldridge 8 45 0 13 McKnight 1 5 0 5
North Carolina Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Nicks 6 171 2 72 McGill 3 15 0 6 Holley 2 14 1 12 Foster 2 12 0 6	Notre Dame Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Carlson 8 91 1 28 Samardzija 6 177 1 46 McKnight 6 56 2 16 Walker 2 16 0 9

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				UNC	ND
	TD	12:57	RHEMA MCKNIGHT 7 YD PASS FROM BRADY QUINN (CARL GIOIA KICK) Drive info: 6 plays, 65 yards.	0	7
	TD	6:04	JESSE HOLLEY 12 YD PASS FROM JOE DAILEY (CONNOR BARTH KICK) Drive info: 8 plays, 80 yards.	7	7
	TD	1:47	JOHN CARLSON 11 YD PASS FROM BRADY QUINN (CARL GIOIA KICK) Drive info: 10 plays, 74 yards.	7	14
SECOND QUARTER				UNC	ND
	TD	11:28	RHEMA MCKNIGHT 14 YD PASS FROM BRADY QUINN (CARL GIOIA KICK) Drive info: 7 plays, 57 yards.	7	21
	FG	6:33	CARL GIOIA 27 YD FG Drive info: 7 plays, 45 yards.	7	24
	TD	6:15	BRANDON TATE 90 YD KICK RETURN (BLOCKED XP)	13	24
	TD	2:54	TOM ZBIKOWSKI 52 YD PUNT RETURN (CARL GIOIA KICK)	13	31
THIRD QUARTER				UNC	ND
	TD	9:43	HAKEEM NICKS 13 YD PASS FROM JOE DAILEY (BLOCKED XP) Drive info: 10 plays, 83 yards.	19	31
	TD	8:10	JEFF SAMARDZIJA 42 YD PASS FROM BRADY QUINN (CARL GIOIA KICK) Drive info: 3 plays, 43 yards.	19	38
	TD	7:25	HAKEEM NICKS 72 YD PASS FROM JOE DAILEY (CONNOR BARTH KICK) Drive info: 1 plays, 72 yards.	26	38
FOURTH QUARTER				UNC	ND
	TD	11:13	DARIUS WALKER 1 YD RUN (CARL GIOIA KICK) Drive info: 10 plays, 61 yards.	26	45

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Notre Dame keeps winning -- just not as impressively as many expect.

Brady Quinn threw for a season-high 346 yards and four touchdowns and the 11th-ranked Fighting Irish beat North Carolina 45-26 on Saturday.

Catching up on history
In a place like South Bend, where football tradition goes back generations, it's not easy for today's players to break into the record books. All the more reason to applaud Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija on Saturday caught the 23rd touchdown pass of his career -- as part of a six-catch, 177-yard day -- to move past Derrick Mayes on the all-time Irish list.
Player	Years	TDs
Jeff Samardzija	2003-pres.	23
Derrick Mayes	1992-95	22
Tom Gatewood	1969-71	19
Maurice Stovall	2002-05	18

But the Irish couldn't put away the struggling Tar Heels until early in the fourth quarter, giving up a 90-yard kickoff return and a 72-yard TD pass.

Irish coach Charlie Weis was in a good mood afterward, though, saying he was disappointed about the big plays but pleased his team is improving.

He said he's worried about the next game against Air Force and "really not worrying about any crescendo or fever pitch or anything like that as far as the team on the rise. I'm more concerned about just getting better."

It appeared for a while the Irish would put the game away early, breaking a 7-7 tie with a pair of touchdowns and a field goal to move ahead 24-7. But the Irish gave up the 90-yard kickoff return by Brandon Tate and a 72-yard touchdown catch by Hakeem Nicks as North Carolina kept the score respectable until late.

"I'm concerned any time we give up long ones," Weis said. "It's something we have to keep working on. It hasn't been that way every week. It's actually been better this year. But we gave up a couple today."

North Carolina coach John Bunting was more bothered by the plays his team gave up.

"I'm a little frustrated with the way the game ended and frustrated with some of the big plays we gave up defensively," he said.

Notre Dame improved to 8-1 for the first time since 2002, when the Irish won their first eight games under Tyrone Willingham. It marks the first time the Irish have won at least eight games in back-to-back seasons since 1996.

The Tar Heels (1-8) fell to 1-16 all-time against the Irish and lost their second straight since coach John Bunting was fired. On the bright side, though, the 26 points were the most scored by the Tar Heels against Notre Dame and the most they've scored against a I-A opponent this season.

Weis said he was pleased overall with the play of the defense.

"I thought the first half, with the exception of the one drive which we gave up, I thought the defense really came and set the tempo in the game," Weis said.

The Irish, who have been unable to move up in the poll despite continuing to win, didn't look overly impressive against a bad team.

"Everybody knows they've been giving up points, but the problem is stopping their offense," tailback Ronnie McGill said. "We knew we could move the ball. They do have some weak spots in their defense and people have scored points on them."

But the win was enough to keep alive Notre Dame's hopes for a second straight Bowl Championship Series berth.

Jeff Samardzija had six catches for 177 yards and a touchdown. It was his 23rd career touchdown catch, breaking the school record set by Derrick Mayes in 1995.

Quinn, who completed 23-of-35 passes, also threw an 11-yard TD pass to John Carlson and TD passes of 7 and 14 yards to Rhema McKnight. Darius Walker run for 86 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

North Carolina linebacker Durell Mapp wasn't too impressed.

"Brady Quinn is a good quarterback, but they really aren't different from what we see from week to week," he said. "Actually, they are a little slower than most teams in the ACC, however they run a very precise offense. They really do have a good scheme with the way they mix up their play calls."

Joe Dailey, who started and played most of the game, was 14 of 22 passing for 213 yards with three touchdown passes. McGill ran for 61 yards on 13 carries as the Tar Heels managed just 244 yards total offense - 128 of that coming on three plays. North Carolina was called for five personal fouls, including two on one play that helped set up Notre Dame's final touchdown.

Samardzija said whether any one else is impressed by Notre Dame doesn't matter.

"We're grooving right now and we feel good about our offense and where we're at," he said.