While our title hopes are long gone for the year, it’s apparent that there’s another driving factor for this season. Pride. (Well, that, and retaining recruits.) And, what we saw last week against Cal wasn’t a team that looked even remotely close to competing in today’s perfectionist CFP world – we did see a team that fought for respect. A heavy load comes with wearing the golden helmet, the iconic navy blue & gold. You don’t just play for yourself at Notre Dame, you play for history – for a legacy as old as college football itself. And that was the true win last Saturday.

Now, we find ourselves against another decent opponent. Which, considering how the season has gone thus far – is as challenging as almost any school in the country. Furthermore, opposing teams look forward to playing us. Especially now. It’s like Sharks smelling blood. A team like UNC with no title hopes sees this as a chance to prove themselves. This is the task we face as Marcus Freeman leads the Fighting Irish down to Tarheel Country, and it should be a tough fight indeed. Last week was too close for comfort. So, here’s what we need to see this week in order to retain the pride we’re fighting for.

As noted in last week’s write-up, we saw Jack Plummer look like Patrick Mahomes. Now, correct me if I’m wrong – I didn’t see his name mentioned in any of the Heisman hype. And while Drake Maye isn’t in the upper echelon either, his numbers are even better than Plummer’s. With 930 passing yards and 11 touchdowns against 1 interception – the guy at least deserves some respect. Even worse, he is a threat on the ground, too. And clearly, after last week, that’s what can hurt us. While we put a decent amount of pressure on Plummer, he got away all too easily. Whether it’s keeping a sure-handed spy on Maye, or simply wrapping up when the chance is given – something needs to be done if we want a shot tomorrow.

After allowing 26 to Marshall, and 17 to Cal, it’s safe to say that our Offense needs to keep up with the pace. We were able to do this last week, even after a miserable first half from Drew Pyne. While we can’t expect Pyne to go out there and “ball out” – we can expect him to effectively manage the game to victory. After all, looking at how well we ran the ball last week – that should take some pressure off. However, the key factor here is how the UNC Defense approaches the ND Offense, and if it even works. The advantage we have here is that the Tarheel Defense has also given up a large number of points each game. So, if we can exploit their even worse Defense – we should be fine.

Now, this one comes with a couple of key points. Stating the obvious, we’re on the road. And while UNC is no juggernaut, you can still expect a lot of noise. Secondly, and more importantly, Notre Dame is currently sitting at a -4 turnover ratio. Not good. In other words, if we come out making mistakes, fumbling center exchanges, and throwing picks – this could get ugly. Fast. But, if we do what we’ve been able to do – run the ball, hit the short routes, put some pressure on the QB. Then the crowd will settle down, we’ll be the ones in charge, and we’ll be able to fight our way to a victory. We all know the importance of momentum in football, and luckily – we actually have some this week after coming off of our first win. The monkey is off of our backs. There’s no pressure for a title. We’re just going out there to show the country what we got. Good, or bad…

We’re Notre frickin’ Dame after all. Sure, we’re not a powerhouse team at the moment, and that’s okay. Because what we are is a school of tradition, a school of excellence. So go out there and show it! With all of the heat Tommy Rees got for his yelling – I actually like the fire! It shows that some of us Fighting Irish are still fighting – and that’s really all we’re asking for.

The Offensive Line needs to take some pride and make some blocks. The running game needs to be balanced between Estimae and Tyree. Our Wide Receivers need to step up. Linebackers need to tackle. Lorenzo Styles and Isaiah Foskey need to make an impact. The list goes on and on… But, what it really boils down to – is playing with heart. Each and every Notre Dame fan is proud to don the title. And the players (and coaches) need to do the same. As our guys leave the tunnel, I can only hope they take one phrase to heart: play like a champion… Even if it’s not in a literal sense of a CFP Title. No, play with heart. Play with pride. The pride that comes with calling ourselves the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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