Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 OCT. 8, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Virginia Tech has allowed 319.7 yards passing per contest to rank 122nd nationally out of 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams after four weeks. "The secondary has been a bit of a mess," Sullivan said. "Sophomore Bryce Watts has backup experience from a year ago, but he's not skilled enough to be the guy that you want to place on a team's No. 1 receiver, which is why the NFL departure of Adonis Alexander hurts. "Redshirt freshman Caleb Farley is an incredible athlete, but new to cor- nerback after bouncing between it and wide receiver — and then miss- ing last fall with a torn ACL. "Returning safety starter in junior Reggie Floyd plays in the box plenty, and is great against the run, while still having the athleticism to drop into coverage. The talent is there with the other players, but not the experience." The defensive backfield is the big- gest worry for Virginia Tech when it comes to their matchup with the Irish. "The secondary is susceptible to getting torn to shreds," Sullivan said. "Florida State was able to get receivers open downfield, but quar- terback Deondre Francois couldn't hit them, so the Hokies never really got punished." Before the Old Dominion debacle, Sullivan felt the Hokies could pull off the upset. That is not the case now. "Seeing a glorified FCS team run up and down the field, I just don't see a way the Lunch Pail D slows down the offense, barring unforced errors from Ian Book," Sullivan said. "A 34-20 Notre Dame win seems to be the likely outcome to me." ✦ GAME PREVIEW: VIRGINIA TECH Junior rover Reggie Floyd is the lone returning starter in the secondary for Virginia Tech, which allowed 319.7 passing yards per game during its 2-1 start this season. PHOTO BY DAVE KNACHEL/COURTESY VIRGINIA TECH ATHLETICS 2018 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 1 Michigan W, 24-17 Sept. 8 Ball State W, 24-16 Sept. 15 Vanderbilt W, 22-17 Sept. 22 at Wake Forest W, 56-27 Sept. 29 Stanford W, 38-17 Oct. 6 at Virginia Tech (ABC) 8 p.m. Oct. 13 Pittsburgh (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Oct. 27 vs. Navy* (CBS) 8 p.m. Nov. 3 at Northwestern TBA Nov. 10 Florida State (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17 vs. Syracuse^ (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 24 at USC TBA * at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego; ^ at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, N.Y. 2018 VIRGINIA TECH SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 3 at Florida State W, 24-3 Sept. 8 William & Mary W, 62-17 Sept. 15 East Carolina Ppd.* Sept. 22 at Old Dominion L, 49-35 Sept. 29 at Duke W, 31-14 Oct. 6 Notre Dame (ABC) 8 p.m. Oct. 13 at North Carolina TBA Oct. 25 Georgia Tech (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3 Boston College TBA Nov. 10 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 17 Miami TBA Nov. 23 Virginia TBA * Cancelled due to Hurricane Florence