North Carolina may have done Notre Dame a favor in 2020, one that will pay off in 2021. When the Tar Heels matched the Irish touchdown for touchdown in an explosive fourth quarter on last year’s Black Friday, Notre Dame needed to find some defensive help.
It brought in freshman cornerback Clarence Lewis for then-junior Tariq Bracy. North Carolina would not score another touchdown.
Lewis finished the year strong and will start on Labor Day Eve, a long-term defensive piece uncovered partly because the Tar Heels were so explosive. The same would have been said about linebacker Marist Liufau — another defensive substitute in that second quarter, one who interrupted North Carolina’s run-pass option reads — until he reportedly suffered a leg injury in practice this week, something that may sideline him deep into the season, if not for all of it.