Carr, ground game help No. 3 Notre Dame push past North Carolina 37-26 for 15th straight win

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- , Notre Dame abruptly found itself playing in a tight game at North Carolina with the pouring rain limiting coach Marcus Freeman’s comfort throwing the ball. So the third-ranked Fighting Irish made it simple: get a hard push from the offensive line, open lanes and pound the ball through those gaps again and again. It added up to regaining control after halftime in Saturday’s 37-26 road win, along with offering a promising leap for a rushing attack that looks very different from the one from last year that produced two first-round NFL draft picks. “When they know you’re going to try to run the ball , and you’re still able to run the ball , because of the weather conditions, that’s a reflection of your team, and the toughness and the physicality,” Freeman said.