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NC State vs. Notre Dame game balls

On3 imageby:Todd Burlage•09/09/23•

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Notre Dame RB Audric Estime
© Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The impressive and balanced 45-24 Fighting Irish win Saturday over NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., provided plenty of options to pass out some game balls. 

Here are the three most deserving. 

Tailback Audric Estimé 

The Irish junior busted an 80-yard touchdown run on the first offensive play of the second quarter on his way to 134 rushing yards. 

Notre Dame again went deep into its running back rotation, which limited Estimé to only 14 carries against NC State, making for a 9.6-yard per-carry average. 

This marked the second-straight 100-yard rushing game for Estimé — who recorded 116 yards against Tennessee State on Sept. 2 — and the fifth 100-yard rushing game of his career.

Estimé added a 7-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter. 

Notre Dame defensive secondary

As difficult as it is to single out one individual player or play from this unit, perhaps its biggest moment came early in the fourth quarter when senior safety Xavier Watts intercepted a pass that the Irish converted five plays later into a touchdown that pushed their lead to 31-17 and essentially put this game on ice. 

Graduate safety DJ Brown added 5 tackles and an athletic fourth-quarter interception that set up another Irish touchdown. 

Graduate safety Thomas Harper finished with a team-best 7 tackles along with two timely pass breakups.

And sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison chipped in with 3 tackles and his first interception of the season. 

Quarterback Sam Hartman

For the third straight game and week, the graduate Irish quarterback earned a game ball after throwing for 286 yards on 15-of-24 passing for 286 yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions against NC State.

Two of Hartman’s scoring tosses — (40 yards and 35 yards) — came to sophomore tight end Holden Staes.

Targeted five times by Hartman, Staes finished with 4 catches for 134 yards and the 2 touchdowns, the first two scoring grabs of his career. 

Despite facing more pass pressure than he did in the previous two games against Navy and Tennessee State, Hartman cooly and efficiently led five touchdown drives on his final eight offensive possessions. 

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