North Carolina Is Returning To Action Is Returning To Gridiron Following Bye Week Is Hosting 3rd Ranked Notre Dame Saturday At Noon In Chapel Hill

A week ago today on Saturday September 26, 2026 North Carolina wasn’t playing an opponent on the gridiron at this time because they had a bye!

You can’t say the same about this Saturday October 3, 2026 as they’re hosting 3rd ranked Notre Dame who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference except on the gridiron where Notre Dame is independent.

North Carolina comes into the game with Notre Dame with record of 2-1 because on Saturday September 19, 2026 at Clemson North Carolina lost by a score of 26-20.

In North Carolina’s 26-20 at Clemson North Carolina took a 20-15 lead on Aeron Burrell’s 22 yard field goal with 6:34 remaining in the 4th quarter

Though,

North Carolina took 20-15 lead on Clemson on Aaron Burrell’s 22 yard field goal North Carolina lost to Clemson 28-20 because Clemson scored two touchdowns Gideon Davidson who is a running back ran for 8 yards though the 2-run home run failed giving Clemson 21-20 lead before Clemson put the finishing touches on the win with Tyler Brown who is running back ran for 34 yard run . Nolan Hauser kicked, made extra point.

Following North Carolina’s 28-20 loss to Clemson Head Coach Bill Belichuck shared his thoughts by saying They (Clemson) made a few more plays than us the last eight minutes of the game. We missed some opportunities on offense and some tackles on defense.

According to article by Associated Press on ESPN App

While North Carolina lost their previous game to Clemson Notre Dame beat Purdue who is a member of Big Ten 49-10 on Saturday September 26, 2026 because Notre Dame scored seven touchdowns.

Micah Gilbert who is wide receiver caught 27 yard pass from quarterback CJ Carr Spencer Porcath kicked, made extra point in 1st quarter. putting Notre Dame ahead 7-0. In 2nd quarter Anayas Williams who is a running back ran for 22 yard touchdown, Spencer Porath kicked, made extra point extending Notre Dame’s lead yet again over Purdue this time, 14-0 before CJ Carr ran for 1 yard run, Spencer Porath kicked, made extra point extending Notre Dame’s lead yet again over Purdue this time 21-0 before Drayk Bowen who is a linebacker recovered a fumble resulting in a touchdown, Spencer Porath kicked, made extra point . In the 3rd quarter Nolan James who is running back caught 3 yard pass from CJ Carr for touchdown Spencer Porath kicked, made extra point. In 3rd quarter Purdue got their first points of the game as Jacobo Echerverria Lozano kicked, made 47 yard field goal making score 35-3 Notre Dame. In 4th quarter Notre Dame would score two touchdowns in 4th quarter as Cooper Flannagan who is tight end would catch 2 yard pass from CJ Carr. Spencer Porath would kick, make extra point before Matt Jeffrey who is a wide receiver would would catch 4 yard pass from backup quarterback Noah Grubbs before Purdue got on scoreboard for final time as Bisi Owens who is wide receiver caught 14 yard pass from backup quarterback Evans Chuba. Jacobo Echeverria Lozano would kick, make extra point.

Following Notre Dame’s 49-10 win at Purdue starting quarterback CJ Carr shared his thoughts by saying it’s a huge win to beat Big Ten team and to go on the road to do it it’s good to win the game.

Though,

Starting CJ Carr wasn’t the only one to share his thoughts following Notre Dame’s 49-10 win at Purdue as Head Coach Barry Odom did as well by saying We knew we had to be aggressive and extend the drive there, and if we would have gotten our eyes outside of the block instead of the inside, instead of coming up six inches short, we have a first downWe have to take chances. Today it didn't come up right.”

According to Associated Press MLB article https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401858467

Kick-off is set for 12:00pm Eastern Time from Kenan Memorial Stadium!

The game is going to be televised on ESPN with Wes Durham , Dusty Dvoracek , Taylor McGregor commentating!

Wes Durham is a play-by-play commentator for ESPN and ACC Network, ESPN’s network devoted to Atlantic Coast Conference sports. Durham, a highly respected and accomplished broadcaster who has been around college sports and the ACC his entire life, calls college football and basketball games on ESPN platforms in addition to contributing to ACCN studio shows.

One of the original hires when ACC Network launched in 2019, Durham previously co-hosted the Packer and Durham morning show alongside Mark Packer – a program they started in 2018 as ACC This Morning on SiriusXM ACC Radio. After three years on ACCN, Durham shifted to a play-by-play-centric role for the network.

In 2023, Durham was named the play-by-play voice for ACC Primetime Football, where he calls weekly high-profile ACC games with Tom Luginbill and Dana Boyle. During the men’s college basketball season, Durham is also one of the network’s lead game-callers.

Durham’s name has been synonymous with the ACC for years. He was the radio voice for Georgia Tech from 1995-2013 before joining Fox Sports South/Raycom Sports to handle play-by-play duties for ACC football, basketball and baseball games. Durham’s family also has a special history in the conference. His father, Woody, was the legendary “Voice of the Tar Heels” for 40 years.

Since 2020, Durham has contributed to ESPN’s coverage of the PGA Championship as a play-by-play commentator on Featured Group streams on ESPN+

In addition to working in the ACC, Durham had stints early in his career as the radio announcer of athletic teams at Marshall, Radford and Vanderbilt.

Beyond his ESPN roles, Durham has been the radio play-by-play voice for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons since 2004.

A native of Cary, N.C., Durham graduated from Elon University with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications.

Durham learned about broadcasting while working at Elon’s WSOE student radio, where he called 150 football and basketball games in four years as an undergraduate.

Durham was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, while Elon’s School of Communications honored him as its Distinguished Alumnus in April 2013. An 11-time winner of the Georgia Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA), Durham is a longtime member of the NSMA board and in 2022 he became president of the board.

Dusty Dvoracek is a college football analyst on ESPN and ABC Saturday games, having joined ESPN in 2016. In addition to his booth duties with ESPN, he has an expanded studio role including weekly appearances on College Football Live, SportsCenter, SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt and more. He also has a regular presence on Sirius XM for their college sports programming nationwide.

Dvoracek played for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2001-05, where he was a two-time captain and two-time Big 12 champion. During his time at Oklahoma, he earned the Jay Myers Award (Outstanding Freshman Student Athlete), the Sooner Schooner Scholastic Award (Outstanding Student Athlete), and was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team and was two-time First Team All Big 12 and Third Team AP All American.

In 2006, Dvoracek was drafted 73rd overall in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, and played with the team for four years.

Prior to joining ESPN, Dvoracek was a college football analyst for Fox Sports Southwest and Fox Sports Oklahoma.

He currently resides in Norman, Okla., with his wife Lacy, his two sons and daughter.Taylor McGregor is a reporter and host for ESPN, contributing across college football, the NBA, the UFL and additional marquee events. Since joining ESPN in September 2019, McGregor has served as a college football sideline reporter on ESPN and ABC and has taken on an expanding role across the company’s live event and studio coverage, including SportsCenter and NCAA Championships.

McGregor previously held roles at AT&T SportsNet in Denver, Colo.; THV-11 in Little Rock, Ark.; and KCWY-TV in Wyoming. From 2020-26, she also served as the lead field reporter for Chicago Cubs telecasts on Marquee Sports Network, earning recognition as one of the network’s signature on-air personalities. She also completed internships with SEC Network, RazorVision at the University of Arkansas, MLB Network, FOX Sports Kansas City, ROOT Sports and KNWA-TV.

A proud University of Arkansas alumna, McGregor graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. A Colorado native, she grew up around sports through her late father’s career as an NFL tight end, collegiate athletics administrator and former president of the Colorado Rockies. 

McGregor currently resides in Chicago, Ill. 

According to https://espnpressroom.com/bio/wes-durham// https://espnpressroom.com/bio/dusty-dvoracek/ https://espnpressroom.com/bio/taylor-mcgregor/