Tar Heels and Fighting Irish locked in gridiron shootout

No. 2 Notre Dame traveled to Chapel Hill Friday to battle the No. 19 North Carolina Tar Heels. And the battle began early with Carolina's 50-yard scoring drive capped with a 6-yard strike from Sam Howell to Emery Simmons to give North Carolina the 7-0 lead.

The Fighting Irish looked to preserve their undefeated record with a 9-play, 75-yard drive then culminated in a Kyren Williams 2-yard TD run. But it would not be an easy task to keep the lid on the Tar Heels. The Heels went to the air for a 51-yard Dyami Brown completion to set up a goal line run by Howell to give the Heels the 14-7 lead.

Unlike the 47 points they put up in the win against Clemson or the 45 points they garnered against Boston College, the Notre Dame scoring machine that managed to tie the game 14-14 before the end of the first quarter was matched blow-by-blow by the Heels.

After a Personal Foul led to Notre Dame Safety Kyle Hamilton's ejection for targeting, the Tar Heels moved the ball effectively down field but only mustered a field goal from the drive which put them on top 17-14 before Notre Dame answered back.

AT THE HALF:

Notre Dame 17

North Carolina 17

What's at stake today:

Notre Dame could add another notch in the belt to capture their first and only conference championship since joining the ACC.

North Carolina has the chance to right the wrongs of the Tar Heels' last-minute collapse in 2019 - and let the college football universe know that Carolina football stands with the other top programs in the country.

Log on to ADSN for post-game coverage and news at the close of today's game.