Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 SEPT. 30, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED bounce-back for the talented passer. Perkins led Virginia to touchdown drives on each of its final three possessions, completing 15 of 17 passes for 150 yards with a score. Perkins has spread the ball around well through three games, with nine players catching at least four passes and three with a minimum of 12 grabs. Notre Dame was one of the nation's top pass defenses in 2018, and after two games in 2019 the Irish had picked up where they left off. Through three weeks of the regular season, the Notre Dame defense led the nation by allowing opposing quar- terbacks to complete just 38.6 percent of their passes. Notre Dame also ranked third nationally in pass efficiency defense (70.07), sixth in yards al- lowed per attempt (5.0) and 12th in yards allowed (142.5). The Irish pass rush was not as effective through two games, at least from a sacks standpoint, reg- istering just four in two games. Break down the film and you'll see why — Notre Dame's first two opponents spent much of the game throwing as quickly as possible to prevent the vaunted Irish pass rush from taking over the game. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. VIRGINIA RUN DEFENSE Virginia ranked 47th in run defense last season, surrendering 147.5 yards per game. Through their first three games this fall, however, the Cavaliers were thriving in this department. Opponents aver- aged just 78.7 yards per game and 2.5 yards per rush in the first three contests, which ranked 16th and 17th in the nation, respectively. The Cavaliers held each of its first three oppo- nents to fewer than 100 yards and racked up 28 tackles for loss, which ranked seventh in the coun- try. It was a big jump for a defense that finished 106th nationally with only 62 tackles for loss in 2018. Senior linebacker Jordan Mack and junior linebacker Zane Zandier are tied for the team lead with five stops behind the line after three games. In fact, Vir- ginia's four starting linebackers combined for 14.5 tackles for loss in its first three contests. Notre Dame's run game averaged 193.5 yards per game through its first two matchups, but a disappointing 157 yards against New Mexico raised concerns about just how good the Irish are when it comes to running the ball without Jafar Armstrong in the lineup. Senior Tony Jones Jr. racked up 110 yards on 15 carries in the opener against Lou- isville, but he had just six carries (for 17 yards) against the Lobos. New Mexico was aggressive with how it attacked the Irish Junior linebacker Jordan Mack led the Virginia defense with five tackles for loss and four sacks through three games. PHOTO COURTESY VIRGINIA MEDIA RELATIONS GAME PREVIEW: VIRGINIA Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 229 Sr. 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 220 Sr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 305 Sr. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 307 Jr. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 292 5th-Sr. C 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-5 300 So. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 289 Jr. RG 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 319 Sr. 56 John Dirksen 6-5½ 309 So. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 295 Jr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5 280 Fr. TE 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 246 Jr. 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3½ 235 So. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 25 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 180 So. WR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 172 So. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 194 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 212 Sr. 15 Phil Jurkovec 6-4½ 227 So. RB 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 224 Sr. 34 Jahmir Smith 5-11 205 So. 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 205 Fr. 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11 200 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 248 Sr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 266 Sr. DT 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 286 Jr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 So. NG 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 Jr. 54 Jacob Lacey 6-2 293 Fr. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Sr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 253 Sr. Buck 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 5th-Sr. 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 228 Jr. or 31 Jack Lamb 6-4 233 So. Mike 40 Drew White 6-0 230 Jr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 232 So. or 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 230 So. Rover 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 216 Jr. 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 216 So. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 194 Sr. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 198 So. or 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 212 Sr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 210 Fr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 210 Sr. 12 DJ Brown 6-0 198 So. CB 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 180 5th-Sr. 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 23 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. PK 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 203 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. P 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. H 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 17 Nolan Henry 6-0 193 5th-Sr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 225 Sr. 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 224 So. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. KR 23 Kyren Williams 5-9 205 Fr. 20 C'Bo Flemister 5-11 200 So. Special Teams