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North Carolina forced two interceptions and two fumbles and capitalized to hand Notre Dame its second loss of the season.

Notre Dame outgained No. 22 North Carolina by 150 yards (472 to 322) and in the first half controlled the game. The Irish, who came out in their first two series in a no-huddle, five-wide alignment, rolled up 11 first-quarter first downs. The Irish, for the first time Oct. 1, 2005 at Purdue, seemed poised to beat a ranked team on the road.

That is, until mistakes caught up with them. Jonas Gray fumbled a pooch kickoff in the waning moments of the first half that resulted in a turnover. While that giveaway failed to yield any points for Carolina, it was Notre Dame’s first turnover since Michael Floyd fumbled in the third quarter at Michigan State. It was also a harbinger of things to come.

First, there was Clausen’s interception that was returned for six on the first play of the second half. Two series later, Clausen, who moved as well in the pocket as he has yet in his college career, stepped up to make a throw and had the ball swiped away by Tar Heel defensive tackle Aleric Mullins.

Seven plays later, Carolina quarterback Cameron Sexton kept the ball on a rollout right to score. Carolina led 29-24 with 14:55 left to play. Not only was it the first time the Irish had trailed since the second quarter versus Purdue. It would also be the final score in this entertaining, if unevenly played contest.

“I made some mistakes out there,” said Clausen, grading himself rather harshly. His second interception came early in the fourth quarter in what was a miscommunication between he and Floyd. “Can’t afford that against a great team like Carolina.”

The Tar Heels may be 5-1 and ranked, but they are not a great team. Not yet. Neither are the Irish, though an argument can be made that they are the better team. Statistically, for sure.

“I can give you all sorts of stats, but really, stats are for losers,” said Weis. “The big thing is, 'Did you win or did you lose?' And we lost…the key thing is we didn’t take care of the football. Not taking care of the football ended up costing us.”

It was frustrating that way. “To tell you the truth,” said defensive end Pat Kuntz, “at the end there, with all the people running on the field and the confusion, it kind of reminded me of the (2005) USC game. It’s difficult. It’s tough, because we knew we were good enough to win that game and this one.”

Also like the USC game, the ending did not lack for drama. With the Irish facing that 4-and-13 at the Carolina 33 and 11 seconds remaining, Notre Dame called timeout. Then Carolina returned the favor. During that time Weis, in his words “drew that play up in the dirt.” Not literally, of course, since Weis’ left leg prevents him from bending over. However, he did use a greaseboard to devise a play in which the Irish would line up with three receivers left, flooding the deep zone. Floyd was lined up to the right and told to run a post route underneath.

The call worked to perfection. If only Floyd had not tried so hard.

“I told him to keep his head up afterward,” said Clausen.

Each Monday, the Notre Dame football team enters the locker room to find posted on its bulletin board a “Team Top 10 List.” Far from humorous, the list is a visual tool that prioritizes the Irish objectives and concerns for that week. Last Monday number one on the list was the question, “Can we win on the road?” Number two? “Turnovers.”

The Irish failed to control number two, and because of that, failed to answer in the affirmative number one. Next up, two weeks from now, is another road game. The Irish will be at Washington, a school that currently owns the nation’s longest losing streak at seven games.

You can bet what the number one item on the next Irish Top 10 list will be.

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