Notre Dame vs. NC State enters weather delay

Saturday’s game between NC State vs. Notre Dame has been delayed due to weather. Storms have been around Raleigh all morning, and officials made the call to clear the field with 14:45 left to play in the second quarter.

At the time of the delay, Notre Dame had a 3-0 lead over NC State thanks to a 54-yard field goal from Spencer Shrader. The Fighting Irish had just taken over a new set of downs after an NC State punt.

The game was drawing plenty of attention as Sam Hartman makes another trip to Raleigh. He played there three times at Wake Forest, totaling a 1-2 record in that time, but Saturday marked his first time taking on the Wolfpack after transferring to Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish are the favorite in the game, coming in favored by 7.5 points, according to FanDuel. NC State’s defense could again give Hartman problems, but the new-look offense will all but certainly test Notre Dame’s defense.

With Brennan Armstrong reunited with Robert Anae, NC State got off to a quick start to the season last week against UConn. Armstrong threw for 155 yards on 17 of 26 passing, but made his presence known on the ground with a team-high 96 yards and two touchdowns as the Wolfpack came away with the 24-14 victory.

It’s shaping up to be an interesting battle in Raleigh, and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman knows it won’t be easy going up against Tony Gibson’s defense.

“Not many quarterbacks have been very successful against this defense,” Freeman said. “So, we’ve got to make sure our plan is really clean and you don’t want a huge plan. Let’s be confident in what we’re doing. It’s a unique defense, the 3-3-5, and it’s not something you see every day. So, we have to make sure our plan is nice and tight and our guys can go out and do their job.”

Brennan Armstrong: Notre Dame presents ‘all around a good defense’

Armstrong also understands the Notre Dame defense presents a tough challenge given the Irish’s success against Navy and Tennessee State. He knows his legs will be a key part of the game plan going in, but he understands NC State has to be able to make key plays.

“Their front seven is really tough,” Armstrong said. “So we’ve just got to control the trenches. We’ve got to make sure we establish ourselves. A lot of man coverage. Cover-one stuff. Guys are going to have to win on the outside. We’re going to have to make plays.

“I think they kind of saw what I can do with my feet. They’ll probably get a guy spying on me. Not trying to let me get out of the pocket too much. But yeah, they’re all around a good defense. A solid defense.”