When Notre Dame visits North Carolina this Saturday, ESPN play-by-play voice Wes Durham will be walking into familiar territory. His late father, Woody Durham, spent 40 years as the legendary “Voice of the Tar Heels.” Now, the younger Durham leads ESPN’s broadcast crew alongside analyst Dusty Dvoracek for a high-stakes Week 5 matchup in Chapel Hill.

The stakes on the field match the energy in the booth. For undefeated Notre Dame, every game is a must-win to keep their College Football Playoff spot safe. For Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels, sitting at 2-1 after a loss to Clemson, a home win over a ranked Irish team is their only real shot to build a signature marquee victory and completely turn their season around.

Dusty Dvoracek and Wes Durham are taking charge of the announcer booth for this October 3 clash on ESPN. Durham will handle play-by-play duties, while Dvoracek provides live analysis. Joining them on the ground is reporter Taylor McGregor, completing ESPN’s three-person crew from the field.

Durham’s connection to the Tar Heels and the ACC runs deeper. Following in his father’s footsteps, Durham has become an integral voice of the conference. 

Wes Durham’s notable achievements

In 2015, Georgia Tech Sports inducted Wes Durham into its Hall of Fame. Two years prior, Elon’s School of Communications honored him as its Distinguished Alumnus in April. Durham is an 11-time winner of the Georgia Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA).

Dvoracek, on the flip side, holds history with the Big 12 conference. A player turned commentator, he is ESPN’s college football analyst and a regular face on ABC Saturday games. The former Oklahoma Sooners player joined ESPN in 2016 and, apart from his booth duties, he has expanded into studio roles too. He makes weekly appearances on College Football Live, SportsCenter, and SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. 

As a college player between 2001 and 2005, he was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team and was a two-time First Team All-Big 12 and a Third Team AP All-American. His NFL career went on for four years after the Bears drafted him 73rd overall in the third round in 2006. 

While Durham has covered plenty of ACC battles throughout his career, Saturday marks his first time on the call for this specific rivalry. Stepping into the booth for this matchup gives Durham a fresh opportunity to frame how these two legendary programs collide in Chapel Hill.

Dvoracek also brings a strong take on Bill Belichick’s move to Chapel Hill. Earlier this season on ESPN’s Get Up, he openly called Belichick’s coaching tenure at UNC an unmitigated disaster. Calling this game live gives Dvoracek a front-row seat to see if Belichick can finally turn things around against a top-ranked opponent.

Other details of the game

Notre Dame at North Carolina is slotted for Saturday, October 3 at 12:00 PM ET on ESPN. The game will be played at Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 

Matchup History: Notre Dame Football is 21-1 all-time against North Carolina. In their last meeting in 2022, the Fighting Irish won marginally, 45-32.

The odds per UHND are: Notre Dame -21.5

Bill Belichick’s UNC record in the last two campaigns is as follows: 2025 record: 4-8 and 2026 record: 2-1 (ongoing)

Marcus Freeman’s record is: 2025 record: 10-2 and 2026 record: 4-0 (ongoing).