Notre Dame Rush Offense vs. Virginia Run Defense

The Irish have been quite impressive with running the ball as they are ranked 13th in the nation averaging 214.8 yards per game with 30 touchdowns and an average of 6 yards per rush. The Irish have had 200 or more yards in 3 out of the last 4 games and had 4 touchdowns in each of those 3 games. Quarterback Riley Leonard leads with 96 attempts for 609 yards with 13 touchdowns and an average of 6.3 yards per rush. Jeremiyah Love has 98 attempts for 583 yards with 10 touchdowns and an average of 6 yards per rush. Jadarian Price has 61 attempts for 443 yards with 4 touchdowns and an average of 7.3 yards per rush. Kedren Young has appeared in 3 games and has 21 attempts for 116 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 5.5yards per rush. Aneyas Williams has 16 attempts for 89 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 5.6 yards per rush. The Irish have allowed opponents to get into the backfield with 40 tackles for loss allowed.

The Cavaliers are solid against the run as they are ranked 50th nationally allowing 132.9 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and an average of 3.9 yards per rush. Virginia has held every opponent so far this season to under 200 rushing yards with 2 games where they held those opponents to less than 100 yards in those games. Only 2 opponents, Louisville and Clemson, would average more than 5 yards per rush as they have held the other remaining opponents to less than 4 yards per rush in those games. The Cavaliers have been pretty good at getting into opposing backfields with 44 tackles for loss. Jonas Sanker leads with 7 tackles for loss while Chico Bennett, Jr. is not far behind with 6.5 tackles for loss.

The Irish continue to favor the run on offense and have been able to use multiple players to make plays this season. Virginia is among the top teams at defending the run that the Irish will play this season. They have really only shut down 2 opponents so far this season, Coastal Carolina and Boston College, who rushed for 82 and 65 yards, respectively. They also have allowed all but 1 opponent to rush for at least 1 touchdown. This would certainly mean that the Irish will favor running the ball when close to the goal line. Look for the Irish to continue to remain strong with running the ball with a deep backfield.

Edge: Notre Dame

Virginia Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Run Defense

The Cavaliers are somewhat below average running the ball as they are ranked 85th in the nation averaging 143.8 yards per game with 10 touchdowns and an average of 3.9 yards per rush. Virginia has had 2 games with 200 or more yards with 200 in the season opener against Division 1-AA and 1 game with 300 or more yards with 384 yards in the win over Coastal Carolina. They have been held below 100 yards in 3 games this season, with the lowest being just 7 yards in a loss to North Carolina. The bulk of the rushing yards come from 3 players with Kobe Pace leading the way with 100 attempts for 442 yards with 3 touchdowns and an average of 4.4 yards per rush. Xavier Brown has 68 attempts for 436 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 6.4 yards per rush. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea has 104 attempts for 259 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 2.5 yards per rush. Quarterback Grady Brosterhous has been used for what is presumed to be goal line situations with 10 attempts for 14 yards with 4 touchdowns and an average of 1.4 yards per rush. Virginia has also allowed opposing teams to have minimal difficulty in getting into the backfield by allowing 57 tackles for loss so far this season.

The Irish have been solid against the run as they are ranked 41st nationally allowing 126 yards per game with 5 touchdowns and an average of 3.5 yards per rush. The Irish have held all opponents but Navy to under 200 rushing yards while also holding every opponent but Navy to less than 5 yards per rush. The Irish have also held 2 opponents, Purdue and Georgia Tech, to less than 100 yards as well. The Irish have also been able to get into opposing backfields as well with 47 tackles for loss. Rylie Mills leads with 6 tackles for loss while Howard Cross is not very far behind as well with 5.5 tackles for loss.

Virginia has been inconsistent this season when it comes to running the ball as they have 384 rushing yards in a win over Coastal Carolina, but yet only had 7 yards in a recent loss to North Carolina. The Irish may have allowed most opponents to get 100 or more yards, but generally settle in quite well after early drives. This was evident in the previous game against Florida State, when the Irish allowed Florida State to gain a decent amount of rushing yards on their opening drive before forcing them to settle for a field goal and then primarily held them in check on the ground. With the Cavaliers run game able to use 3 players primarily and a backup quarterback for goal line situations, accounting for all 4 players will be important and may cause them to favor the pass if the running game is stopped. With how many tackles for loss that Virginia has allowed, making plays in the backfield will greatly help as well. Look for the Irish to once again play well against the run.

Edge: Notre Dame

Notre Dame Pass Offense vs. Virginia Pass Defense

The Irish favor the run, but have a pass offense that continues to improve as they are ranked 99th in the nation averaging 197.3 passing yards per game with 12 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a completion rate of 63.9 percent. Riley Leonard has 145 completions on 225 attempts for 1,575 yards with 9 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a completion rate of 64.4 percent. Steve Angeli has 14 completions on 23 attempts for 183 yards with 3 touchdowns and a completion rate of 60.9 percent. Beaux Collins leads with 29 receptions for 374 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 12.9 yards per reception. Jaden Greathouse has 23 receptions for 310 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 13.5 yards per reception. Jayden Harrison has 12 receptions for 150 yards with an average of 12.5 yards per reception while Kris Mitchell has 13 receptions for 125 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 9.6 yards per reception. Jordan Faison has 10 receptions for 106 yards with an average of 10.6 yards per reception. Jayden Thomas has 11 receptions for 103 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 9.4 yards per reception. Mitchell Evans leads the tight ends with 18 receptions for 154 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 8.6 yards per reception. Cooper Flanagan has 3 receptions for 53 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 17.7 yards per reception while Eli Raridon has 6 receptions for 50 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 8.3 yards per reception. The Irish have done well in pass protection by allowing 12 sacks and 11 quarterback hurries with 15 passes broken up.

The Cavaliers have struggled to defend the pass this season as they ranked 119th in the nation allowing 262.9 passing yards per game with 14 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and a completion rate of 59.7 percent. After holding Richmond to just 110 yards passing, they allowed 7 consecutive opponents to pass for 200 or more yards before holding Pittsburgh to 165 yards. They have allowed 3 opposing teams to pass for 300 or more yards with Coastal Carolina having 302 and Clemson having 345 while having 1 team pass for 400 or more yards with Wake Forest having 403 yards. Except for Richmond, every opponent has had at least 1 passing touchdown in each game played since the opener. In addition, 5 teams were able to have completion rate of 60 percent or higher with 1 team, Boston College, being able to have a completion rate of higher than 70 percent with 73.3 percent. The Cavaliers have not been able to get to opposing quarterbacks as much with 15 sacks and 35 quarterback hurries with 28 passes broken up.

The Irish have passed for 200 or more yards for 4 consecutive games now and while not perfect at times, have made improvements. With the Cavaliers having major difficulty in defending the pass, this could be a good chance to help gain more confidence in this area. With multiple players capable of making plays and the possibility that Virginia could be more focused on the run, there is a chance that the Irish could have a season high in terms of passing yards. Whether this means shorter passes that can lead to large gains, plays downfield, or passes that help for getting first downs, this could be a good opportunity to see the Irish have a balanced offense.

Edge: Even

Virginia Pass Offense vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense

The Cavaliers have been solid when it comes to passing the ball as they are ranked 38th in the nation averaging 254.4 passing yards per game with 15 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, and a completion rate of 63.6 percent. Virginia has only been held to less than 200 yards in 2 games against Coastal Carolina and Pittsburgh. The Cavaliers have passed for 300 or more yards in 2 games against Wake Forest and Louisville. They have been accurate in nearly every game as well with the lowest completion rate being 56.8 percent earlier on in the season against Maryland. Anthony Colandrea has 172 completions on 272 attempts for 1,948 yards with 12 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and a completion rate of 63.2 percent. Tony Muskett has also been used a fair bit recently with 17 completions on 26 attempts for 264 yards with 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a completion rate of 65.4 percent. Malachi Fields has been the main target in the passing game with 45 receptions for 665 yards with 4 touchdowns and an average of 14.8 yards per reception. Tight End Tyler Neville has 27 receptions for 325 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 12 yards per reception. Trell Harris was looking really strong to start the season before having an injury that has kept him out since and he has 13 receptions for 201 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 15.5 yards per reception. A former player for the Irish, Chris Tyree has 22 receptions for 124 yards with an average of 5.6 yards per reception while JR Wilson has 6 receptions for 116 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 19.3 yards per reception. Running back Kobe Pace has 20 receptions for 184 yards with an average of 9.2 yards per reception. Running back Xavier Brown has 8 receptions for 123 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 15.4 yards per reception. The Cavaliers have struggled in pass protection as they have allowed 31 sacks and 29 quarterback hurries with 30 passes broken up.

The Irish have been excellent at defending the pass this season as they are ranked 2nd nationally allowing 148.6 passing yards per game with 6 touchdowns, 12 interceptions (3 returned for touchdowns), and a completion rate of 47.8 percent. The Irish have held all but 2 opponents, Louisville and Georgia Tech, to less than 200 yards in each game. They have also held 3 opponents in Stanford, Navy, and Florida State to less than 100 yards in those games and they all have been recent as well. The Irish have also held every opponent to a completion rate that is under 60 percent as well. The Irish have had success in getting to opposing quarterbacks as well with 26 sacks and 33 quarterback hurries with an impressive 36 passes broken up.

The Irish are coming off a performance where they held Florida State to 88 passing yards and the Irish had done the same thing in the game before against Navy who passed for 88 yards as well. The Cavaliers will be the best passing offense that the Irish have faced since Louisville and are among the top passing offenses that the Irish face this season. Virginia is without Trell Davis who might have been the leading receiver had he not had an injury in game 3 and will favor Malachi Fields and Tyler Neville along with a pair of running backs that are used frequently in the passing game. The former member of the Irish, Chris Tyree, will certainly be accounted for as he can be used in more than just the passing game. If the Irish keep the running game of Virginia in check, this will mean even more passing which means making sure to keep multiple players covered. The Irish are without Howard Cross due to an injury that will keep him out of this game. Even with that in mind, the Irish should be able to take advantage of a Virginia team that has heavily struggled in pass protection with all of the sacks that have been allowed, especially after the Irish had minimal difficulty in getting sacks in the win over Florida State. Look for the Irish to have another strong performance when it comes to the pass defense that has had a considerable amount of success this season.

Edge: Notre Dame

Special Teams

Mitch Jeter returned from injury that caused him to miss a fair amount of playing time and on the season he is 6 of 9 (2 of the misses were blocked) with an accuracy rate of 66.7 percent with a long of 48 yards. Zac Yaokam filled in and on the season is 2 of 4 with an account rate of 50 percent with a long of 42 yards. James Rendell has punted 30 times with an average of 40.4 yards. Jayden Harrison has returned 5 kickoffs for 124 yards with an average of 24.8 yards. Max Hurleman has returned 10 punts for 78 yards with an average of 7.8 yards. The Irish have done quite well in terms of blocking kicks with 5 and have allowed 2 kicks to be blocked.

Will Bettridge has been close to perfect on field goals as he is 17 of 19 with an accuracy rate of 89.5 percent with a long of 47 yards. Daniel Sparks has punted 39 times with an average of 44.2 yards. Chris Tyree has returned 8 kickoffs for 172 yards with an average of 21.5 yards. Ethan Davis has returned 10 punts for 74 yards with an average of 7.4 yards. The Cavaliers have also blocked 1 kick and have had 1 kick blocked.

Stronger Unit: Even

Final Thoughts

The Irish are coming off an impressive 52-3 win over Florida State where after they allowed them to score 3 points on there opening drive would not score again. The Cavaliers are coming off a 24-19 upset win at Pittsburgh to put them at 5-4 this season. The Irish continue to play very well on both offense and defense. With the importance of this game also being Senior Day, getting off to a strong start will be important. What is also important is to not overlook the Cavaliers that had pulled an upset last week and to not look ahead to the following game against Army. With Virginia having a quarterback that has thrown 4 interceptions in the last 2 games and the amount of sacks that have been allowed, this helps make things more favorable for the Irish defense that have consistently been shown to make plays. Look for the Irish to have a strong performance by the offense and defense on Senior Day.

Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Virginia 17

As always, GO IRISH!

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