Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 NOV. 16, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: VIRGINIA BY TYLER HORKA VIRGINIA RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE When the college football calendar flips to No- vember, "What have you done for me lately?" takes on a whole new meaning. Nobody cares what you did in September — unless you're Notre Dame and your two most consequential weeks of the season came in the very first two. The Fight- ing Irish beat then-No. 20 Texas A&M and lost to Northern Illinois. But just as it's now more worth talking about what Notre Dame has done since then to rectify that tumultuous swing, we need to focus in on what Virginia has not done with its rushing attack lately. In three consecutive losses to Louisville, Clem- son and North Carolina from Oct. 12 through Oct. 26, the Cavaliers went from 148 to 68 to 7 rushing yards. Now, Virginia lost 67 yards on 10 sacks versus the Tar Heels. But even if you added all those yards back it still wasn't a fruitful day on the ground for the Cavs. Tailback Kobe Pace had 7 carries for 24 yards. The quarterback run game carried the Cavaliers; Anthony Colandrea and Tony Muskett combined for 44 yards on 8 carries. Let's look at what Virginia did in the running game against Power Four opponents through Week 10 — 90.0 yards per game on an average of 2.8 yards per carry and 3 touchdowns. A rate of half a touchdown per game on the ground is not good. Notre Dame's rushing defense against Power Four teams through Week 10, meanwhile? Just over 98 yards per game on 2.9 yards per carry and 3 touchdowns allowed. Virginia's futility in running the ball aligns almost identically with Notre Dame's increasing ability to stop the run. When those two things come together, the result is generally exactly what you think it will be. Advantage: Notre Dame VIRGINIA PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE If you're going to be so poor running the ball you might as well pass it competently. We'll give Virginia that in its passing attack — competence. It's not an elite phase, but it's good enough to do some heavy lifting for a team that has gotten worse and worse running it. In the three-game losing streak against Louisville, Clemson and North Carolina, all matchups Virginia was chasing in the first half, the Cavaliers took to throwing the ball and averaged 286.7 yards per game on 7.2 yards per pass with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. UVA actually took a fourth-quarter lead against Louisville on the arm of Colandrea. Amidst a quarterback controversy with Muskett, Senior wide receiver Malachi Fields emerged as the Cavaliers' top target, reeling in 43 receptions for 654 yards and 4 touchdowns during their 4-4 start. PHOTO COURTESY VIRGINIA ATHLETICS On PaPer