After a week off following the trip to BYU, Virginia's tough closing four-game stretch continues with a visit from the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame has been to the College Football Playoff two times in the past three seasons and lost a combined five games from 2018-20. But QB Ian Book, who seemed like he was around forever, has finally moved on to the NFL, and the Fighting Irish will attempt to replace him with a Big Ten transfer. Virginia has never defeated Notre Dame. Is this the year the Cavaliers could pull off the upset?
When: Nov. 13, Time TBA Where: Charlottesville
Series record: Notre Dame leads, 3-0
Last meeting: Sept. 28, 2019; Notre Dame won, 35-20
Last year's record: 10-2, 9-0 ACC; lost to No. 3 Clemson, 34-10, in ACC championship; lost to No. 1 Alabama, 31-14, in College Football Playoff semifinals
Best win: vs. No. 1 Clemson, 47-40 in double overtime
Coach: Brian Kelly (12th year, 81-39, 252-96-2 career)
Starters returning: 11 (2 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists)
Offensive player to watch: QB Jack Coan. A senior transfer from Wisconsin, Coan takes over for longtime starter Book. In 2019, Coan started for the Badgers and completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,727 yards, 18 TDs, and five INTs. He is not a dual-threat guy. In 2020, he got hurt before the season, and Graham Mertz ended up taking the Wisconsin QB job, so Coan transferred to Notre Dame in the offseason. Coan actually originally had plans to attend Notre Dame and play lacrosse before ending up at Wisconsin for football.
Defensive player to watch: S Kyle Hamilton. Named to several All-American teams as a sophomore in 2020, Hamilton led the Irish with 63 tackles, 4.5 for losses, one pick, six breakups, and two QB hurries.
Special teams player to watch: K Jonathan Doerer. A fifth-year senior, Doerer could stand to regain his form from 2019. Last season, he struggled a bit, making 15 of his 23 field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards. He went 4 for 9 from 40 yards and beyond. In 2019, Doerer connected on 17 of his 20 tries with a long of 52 yards, and he went 7 for 9 from 40 yards and longer.
Fun fact: The Fighting Irish feature two players from the Richmond, Va., metro area: backup QB Brendon Clark and RB Chris Tyree. Clark played for Manchester High in Midlothian, southwest of Richmond, and Tyree played for Thomas Dale High, located south of Richmond in Chester. Last season, Clark saw action in one game, and Tyree finished with 496 yards rushing (second on the team), averaged 6.8 ypc (led team), and scored four TDs. He also caught eight passes.
Season prediction: Notre Dame is ranked No. 9 in the AP poll to begin the season and is favored in every game at this moment, but the consensus seems to be that the Irish will finish around 9-3.
Early game thoughts: Of course this will be a challenging game -- it's Notre Dame. It will always have the upper hand when facing UVa. But perhaps this will be one of the better years to play the Irish. With only two offensive starters returning, you have to think Notre Dame won't be as prolific on that side of the ball. Plus, this game is late in the season. Who knows what Notre Dame's motivation level will be at that time? Last season, the Irish were part of the ACC, but in 2021, it's back to independence. So they won't have an ACC championship to try and win -- it's College Football Playoff berth or bust, which means they can only afford one loss. Before coming to Charlottesville, Notre Dame has several potential potholes on its schedule with Wisconsin in Chicago, an interesting matchup against upstart Cincinnati, and two more ranked matchups against USC and North Carolina in consecutive weeks. Let's say Notre Dame is 7-2 coming into Scott Stadium. Will the same level of fight be there, as opposed to if the team were 8-1 or 9-0? And if the Cavaliers are having a good season up to that point, Scott will be rocking. Hey, in 2015, a bad Virginia team was less than a minute away from upsetting the Irish. And in 2019, UVa went to South Bend and led at halftime. These results tell me that this Virginia team can do enough to hang around into the fourth quarter. When a team does that, anything is possible.
Offensive player to watch: QB Jack Coan. A senior transfer from Wisconsin, Coan takes over for longtime starter Book. In 2019, Coan started for the Badgers and completed 69.6% of his passes for 2,727 yards, 18 TDs, and five INTs. He is not a dual-threat guy. In 2020, he got hurt before the season, and Graham Mertz ended up taking the Wisconsin QB job, so Coan transferred to Notre Dame in the offseason. Coan actually originally had plans to attend Notre Dame and play lacrosse before ending up at Wisconsin for football.
Defensive player to watch: S Kyle Hamilton. Named to several All-American teams as a sophomore in 2020, Hamilton led the Irish with 63 tackles, 4.5 for losses, one pick, six breakups, and two QB hurries.
Fun fact: The Fighting Irish feature two players from the Richmond, Va., metro area: backup QB Brendon Clark and RB Chris Tyree. Clark played for Manchester High in Midlothian, southwest of Richmond, and Tyree played for Thomas Dale High, located south of Richmond in Chester. Last season, Clark saw action in one game, and Tyree finished with 496 yards rushing (second on the team), averaged 6.8 ypc (led team), and scored four TDs. He also caught eight passes.
Season prediction: Notre Dame is ranked No. 9 in the AP poll to begin the season and is favored in every game at this moment, but the consensus seems to be that the Irish will finish around 9-3.
Early game thoughts: Of course this will be a challenging game -- it's Notre Dame. It will always have the upper hand when facing UVa. But perhaps this will be one of the better years to play the Irish. With only two offensive starters returning, you have to think Notre Dame won't be as prolific on that side of the ball. Plus, this game is late in the season. Who knows what Notre Dame's motivation level will be at that time? Last season, the Irish were part of the ACC, but in 2021, it's back to independence. So they won't have an ACC championship to try and win -- it's College Football Playoff berth or bust, which means they can only afford one loss. Before coming to Charlottesville, Notre Dame has several potential potholes on its schedule with Wisconsin in Chicago, an interesting matchup against upstart Cincinnati, and two more ranked matchups against USC and North Carolina in consecutive weeks. Let's say Notre Dame is 7-2 coming into Scott Stadium. Will the same level of fight be there, as opposed to if the team were 8-1 or 9-0? And if the Cavaliers are having a good season up to that point, Scott will be rocking. Hey, in 2015, a bad Virginia team was less than a minute away from upsetting the Irish. And in 2019, UVa went to South Bend and led at halftime. These results tell me that this Virginia team can do enough to hang around into the fourth quarter. When a team does that, anything is possible.
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