Blue and Gold Illustrated

touchbacks. Freshman CJ Sanders' four punt re- turns for 48 yards, including by a 30-yarder, were a highlight. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS It would take some exhaustive research to find if there has ever been a Notre Dame team to win a game while going 0 of 10 on its third-down conver- sions (our guess would be no). That was our Stat of the Game in another section. Still it should be noted that the Irish did tally a touchdown on a fourth-down fake field goal play, and their game-winning march was made possible by converting on fourth-and-two with a four-yard run by Kizer. Meanwhile, Virginia was 6 of 14 (42.9 percent). It converted a third-and-11 on its first TD drive, a third- and-four on its second, a third-and-nine on its third and a third-and-15 on its fourth. ADVANTAGE: Virginia TURNOVERS The Irish did not lose the ball on a turnover for a third straight contest. The lone turnover in the game was a forced fumble off Russell's corner blitz, but it resulted in only a three-and-out series for the Notre Dame offense. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame ANALYSIS Our theme throughout the week was Virginia basi- cally replaced Purdue on this year's Notre Dame schedule. Neither the Boilermakers nor Cavaliers are likely to finish above .500 — but you can generally count on either playing one of their two or three best games of the year against the Irish. Throughout the first quarter, this game looked like a mismatch, but Notre Dame's third-down woes and red-zone inefficiency enabled the Cavaliers to hang in to the end, and to the point where an Irish defeat seemed imminent. You treasure these kind of victories — like the 20- 17 one versus Purdue in game two during the 12-0 regular season in 2012 — if it helps foster a winning mentality. The Irish will need it with another new quarterback. ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Senior cornerback KeiVarae Russell recorded a sack and forced a fumble that was recovered by the Fighting Irish for the game's lone turnover, but Notre Dame was unable to take advantage and score points off it. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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