NC State’s No. 14 football team faces its toughest challenge of the season so far this weekend, with a trip to South Bend to face the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. We caught up with Joe Wirth of The Otter Room for some perspective on this week’s opponent.

1. Notre Dame had a very poor season for its standards last year, but has bounced back well. What’s allowed them to have such a good rebound season?

Notre Dame was a nine-win team last year that was coached down to a 4-8 record. Other than Kizer going pro, the Irish really have much of the same pieces from a year ago, but the coaching is lightyears better.

Despite what you’ll hear from most of the national media, Brian Kelly really did take full ownership of 2016 and knew that changes had to be made. The three most significant coaching hires were Chip Long as the offensive coordinator, Mike Elko at defensive coordinator and Matt Balis as the head of the strength and conditioning program.

The 2016 NC State game was exhibit A in Notre Dame’s unhealthy attachment to passing the ball and Long has brought a run-first mentality to the offense. The Irish have two offensive lineman who could be first round picks next year and while Josh Adams is getting headlines, Notre Dame has a stable of backs who can go for 100.

The Elko and Balis hires are the ones that have had the most impact on the record. The Irish had one of the worst defenses in the country and while they don’t have elite defensive talent, Elko’s scheme has allowed the Irish to excel. Notre Dame has yet to allow more than 20 points to an opponent and has already exceeded last season’s turnover total.

The Irish are a more physically imposing team than they were a year ago and have manhandled opponents in the running game. They get stronger as the game goes on and that is all the result of the Balis hire.

2. With Kizer leaving, it seems like Notre Dame has transitioned from a pro-style offense to a more run-heavy approach. How does their offense look?

Brandon Wimbush was touted as a great passer, but that has yet to show itself. The Irish are a run-first team and utilize play action to take most of their shots downfield. The passing game is either quick short hits or shots downfield — there’s very little success on attempts 12-25 yards.

Wimbush has begun to show flashes, but is still mostly a one-read passer in the pocket. He has hurt opponents with his feet and has done a solid job in avoiding turnovers.

Despite the great running game, Notre Dame has only won the time of possession battle once this year, so they are getting plenty of explosive plays out by simply running the ball. The matchup everyone is looking forward to is the Irish offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front — whoever wins that matchup will most likely win the game.

The formula for keeping the Notre Dame offense in check is putting them in obvious passing downs and forcing Wimbush to beat you through the air.

3. What is Notre Dame’s defense like?

I mentioned the hire of Elko as one of the biggest additions for the Irish in the offseason, but I can’t oversell that point. The defense is so much more fundamentally sound than a year ago and does not give up a ton of big plays.

The Notre Dame defensive line has exceeded preseason expectations. Players like Jerry Tillery, Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem and Daelin Hayes have become impact players on the defensive line.

The Irish linebackers have played well and there is talent at the corner position, but the question mark remains at the safety position. Some thought University of Southern California would be able to expose them, but the Irish held their own. Elko does a great job of masking their weaknesses, but they struggle in coverage at times and have issues tackling in space.

4. Fans watching this game will be treated to a battle between the number six rushing offense against the number six rushing defense, with Notre Dame’s offensive line going head-to-head with NC State’s defensive line. What will be the key to that battle?

The Irish have played two elite run defenses so far and have had mixed reviews. They struggled against Georgia in the second game of the season, but took it to Michigan State in a win that is looking better by the week.

The Notre Dame line is strong on all fronts, but is better at run blocking than pass blocking. Like I mentioned before, if Notre Dame finds itself in obvious passing downs where NC State’s defensive front can pin their ears back, then they’ll be in trouble.

The Wolfpack will have the most athletic defensive front Notre Dame has faced since Georgia and Bradley Chubb is the best defensive player the Irish will face all season.

Against USC, not a great defense, but one with a ton of athletes, the Irish employed some reverses and screens to keep the Trojan defense honest. I would expect a similar game plan this week to neutralize the Wolfpack’s athletes.

5. Who’s one player on Notre Dame who NC State fans may not know about but should have in mind for Saturday?

That would probably be receiver Kevin Stepherson. Brian Kelly characterized Stepherson’s position on the depth chart as “in Siberia” for the first half of the season. After having a great freshman season, Stepherson missed the first four games because of an undisclosed violation of team rules and then was ineffective in limited action against Miami (OH) and North Carolina.

Stepherson finally broke through against USC as he finished the game with three catches for 58 yards and one touchdown. He also added 24 yards rushing on a pair of reverses in the first half.

Through much of the first half of the season, the Notre Dame passing offense has suffered from a combination of Wimbush’s inaccuracy and an inability of the wide receivers to gain significant separation downfield.

While both of those aspects have improved, Stepherson adds another dimension to the passing attack. The sophomore has breakaway speed to compliment the size ND has at the other receiver positions.

6. What’s your prediction for this one?

As the Irish looked at their slate for the second half of the season, a lot of people gave NC State their due and thought the Wolfpack would be the best team ND faces.

Normally, I would think this would be ideal for a letdown, but because NC State is so highly ranked, I think that factor gets thrown out the window. In an odd way, I think NC State would have a better chance to win if they were coming into this game at 4-3 and under the radar. That’s not saying they can’t win, but they do have Notre Dame’s full attention.

I think the Wolfpack will keep the ND rushing attack relatively at bay, but I really think Stepherson’s emergence as someone who can stretch a defense is huge for the Irish and will be the difference. I see Notre Dame winning 31-21.

Something to keep in mind if this game is close in the fourth quarter: the Irish are 1-9 in their last 10 games decided by one possession or less.