Blue and Gold Illustrated

VIRGINIA RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The Fighting Irish defensive line, led by senior Shel- don Day and junior Isaac Rochell — who interchange on the inside and the edge, depending on the situ- ation — yielded 35-, 25- and 16-yard gains on 25 designed running plays. The other 22 managed only 51 yards for a total of 127. The designs on some of the runs, especially jet sweeps in motion, were effective to overcome Vir- ginia's inability to run between the tackles. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame VIRGINIA PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Two factors made Virginia productive, with 6-5 redshirt junior quarterback Matt Johns completing 26 of 38 passes for 289 yards with two scores. One was Johns' pocket presence. The Irish pass rush wasn't bad, but it often appeared to over-pursue, and Johns was exceptional with the way he moved where necessary to buy himself time and released the pass at the last possible second. Most of the blitzes were picked up well by Vir- ginia's line, other than the corner blitz by senior KeiVarae Russell that led to a Johns fumble, the game's lone turnover. Finishing better on the pass rush will be the next step for the Irish. The second factor was senior Canaan Severin (11 catches for 153 yards), who used his 6-2 frame well to position himself and win several jump balls that Johns threw. He became a matchup problem over the final three quarters. ADVANTAGE: Virginia NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. VIRGINIA RUN DEFENSE Senior running back C.J. Prosise's homecoming (17 carries for 155 yards) was outstanding, with him hit- ting the holes between the tackles aggressively and also displaying his explosive burst on sweeps. Until his third-quarter injury, junior quarterback Malik Zaire (10 carries for 87 yards) also was headed for the century mark. Reserve QB DeShone Kizer made the right read on his crucial fourth-and-two run for four yards from the Irish 28 on the game-winning march. The Irish missed on a couple of third-and-short situations, and also on fourth-and-one, which enabled the Cavaliers to hang around until the end. Still, 253 yards rushing, 7.4 yards per carry and no fumbles tilt the advantage to the Irish. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. VIRGINIA PASS DEFENSE After a virtually unconscious performance versus Texas, junior quarterback Malik Zaire (7-of-18 pass- ing for 115 yards) came back to earth prior to his sea- son-ending ankle injury. This was not a surprise in a first true road start against a veteran defensive staff. However, if the receiving corps is truly going to be considered top-10 caliber, as most outlets have projected, it has to become more than a "when in doubt, throw it deep to Will Fuller" operation. His 59- and 39-yard touchdown receptions were the difference. Otherwise, the Virginia cover men got the better of Notre Dame this day. Beyond the special teams touchdown on a pass and Fuller's two deep catches, the Irish were a modest 12-of-27 passing for 102 yards. Fuller's explosiveness is the great equalizer. ADVANTAGE: Even SPECIAL TEAMS Head coach Brian Kelly indicated he never worked in practice more on special teams than he did this August, and it showed with fake field goal attempt that resulted in the opening score by tight end Dur- ham Smythe. Freshman kicker Justin Yoon converted two of this three field goal attempts, while Virginia missed its lone try. Sophomore punter Tyler Newsome's four punts averaged 55.8 yards, highlighted by a 62-yard rocket that flipped the field, but his "pooch" punting needs polishing — two kicks nears midfield were both ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI

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