Notre Dame’s dominating 49-14 win over Southern California last week has Irish fans excited about the possibilities ahead in the five remaining games, four of which are against top-caliber opponents.

The Irish domination started with the offensive and defensive lines. Again, it was the combination of the Irish rushing offense and an aggressive defense that forced turnovers which ND took advantage of.

On offense, the Irish had a 377-76 advantage in rushing yardage. The Irish total was 70 yards above their already impressive per-game average. ND now ranks fifth in the nation in rushing. But the defense did its part with five sacks, four of them coming from the defensive line. ND had only three sacks all of last season from the defensive line and the two players who were responsible for those graduated. The Irish have an impressive 94-10 advantage over their opponents in points off turnovers this season.

The one negative, if you will, was the passing game didn’t match the running game and that is important as the Irish head into the last five games. As we have been saying most of the season, ND’s passing game has to get up to the level of the rushing game. Once that happens, anything is possible.

Brandon Wimbush was at 100 percent, as head coach Brian Kelly said he would be on Friday before the game. Wimbush went 9-for-19 for 120 yards with a 23-yard scoring strike to Kevin Stepherson and a 29-yarder to Equanimeous St. Brown.

The return of Stepherson from the Kelly’s “dog house” turned out to be a major plus. ND not only used the speedy receiver in its passing game, he was also involved in a few running plays. It’s apparent that Kelly and his staff plan to make Stepherson an important part of the offense. He had been benched for disciplinary reasons for the first four games and had to get back into the flow of things in his first two games back. But last week it showed he is back. He had three catches for 58 yards and ran he ball twice for 24 yards.

More on the game later.

Today the Irish, now ranked 9th/10th, face another big challenge in North Carolina State, who comes into the contest ranked 14th/15th, and also has a 6-1 record. From what I read about the Wolfpack, they are a better team than USC and are ranked No. 7 nationally in run defense.

NC State has had two full weeks to prepare for the Irish after having a bye last week.

The Wolfpack started with a loss to South Carolina, 35-28,then went on a winning streak with victories over Marshall, 37-20, Furman, 49-16, Florida State, 27-21, Syracuse, 33-25, Louisville, 39-25, and Pittsburgh, 35-17.

The Wolfpack is led by quarterback Ryan Finley, who has completed 172 of 248 passes for 1,968 yards and 11 touchdowns. The big item, no interceptions. The rushing attack is led by Nyheim Hines with 648 yards on 116 carries and six TDs, Reggie Gallaspy II, 249 yards and four scores, and Jaylan Samuels 191 yards and seven scores. The top receivers are Kelvin Harmon, 547 yards on 36 catches and two scores, Samuels 453 yards on 54 catches and three TDs, and Jakobi Meyers 390 yards on 26 catches and three scores.

NC State leads the series with the Irish 2-0, winning 28-6 in the Gator Bowl in 2002 and last year in the pouring rain, 10-3. This is the first meeting of the two schools in South Bend.

The game will be televised nationally by NBC-TV with a 3:40 p.m. kickoff.

IRISH NOTES ... Josh Adams had another fine day with 191 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns. Adam’s 84-yard run late in the third quarter was his seventh run this season of 59 yards or more and pushed him past Jerome Heavens into sixth place on ND’s career rushing list. With 967 yards this season and 2,745 for his career, his next target is Julius Jones and his 3,018 yards. Tony Jones Jr. finished with 37 yards on five carries. Defensively, Te’von Coney had 11 tackles followed by Nyles Morgan and Drew Tranquill with seven each ... Coney had one sack as did Daelin Hayes. Khalid Kareem had a pair ... ND’s dominating offensive line has helped it rack up big yardage in every game, except the lone loss to Georgia, when the Irish managed just 55 yards rushing. In the wins the totals were Temple 422, Boston College 515, Michigan State 182, Miami Ohio 333, North Carolina 341 and USC 377 ... Last week was the first time since 2009 that USC and ND met as ranked opponents ... Senior linebacker Greer Martini confirmed on Wednesday that he tore his meniscus during a bye week practice and had surgery on Oct. 12. Less than two weeks later, he practiced fully on Tuesday. He’ll be back in he lineup today ... With 10 rushing touchdowns on the season, Wimbush has tied the school record for rushing TDs by a signal caller in one season. He has equaled DeShone Kizer’s 10 rushing TDs in 2015 ... Junior running back Dexter Williams still appears on track to see his first game action in five weeks on Saturday. Williams is recovering from an ankle injury. He is ND’s second string running back. But injuries have limited him to just 20 carries this season. He’s made the most of them, averaging 10.7 yards per carry with four rushing touchdowns ... Wide receiver Cam Smith is doubtful for today’s game due to a hamstring injury. He missed the USC game ... Today is another big challenge for the Irish. NC State comes into the game riding a six-game winning streak. The Wolfpack will be the last major test for the Irish rush attack as none of the remaining schools on the schedule are ranked higher than 40th in rush defense ... Last week I wrote that I didn’t have confidence in Kelly winning a big game like the USC contest, but he proved me wrong. In my preseason picks I have the Irish edging by the Wolfpack. I will stay with that pick, In reality, this game is a toss-up. The big question is can Kelly do it two weeks in a row?