Notre Dame football vs. Virginia Tech: Time, TV schedule, game preview, score

Fighting Irish battle Hokies

Members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter the field before a game agaoinst the Ball State Cardinals at Notre Dame Stadium on September 8, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Ball State 24-16. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – After a perfect September that included wins over two ranked teams, life doesn’t get any easier for No. 7 Notre Dame as it visits No. 23 Virginia Tech on Saturday evening. The Hokies, who fell out of the rankings after their shocking loss to Old Dominion two weeks ago, got back into the Top 25 with a win at previously undefeated Duke last weekend.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Notre Dame -6.5.

Recommended Videos



 

Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly continues to look smart for moving quarterback Ian Book into the starting lineup two weeks ago, as the junior threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns in the 38-17 win over Stanford last weekend. "(Notre Dame has) a quarterback right now that's outstanding. He's athletic enough to get himself out of trouble. Quarterbacks like this, if you don't get them down on the ground, it's gonna hurt you," Stanford coach David Shaw told reporters after the game. Virginia Tech also got a huge performance from a quarterback who started the year at No. 2 on the depth chart, as Ryan Willis threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns in his first start in place of the injured Josh Jackson. "I felt comfortable with him in there - we've been watching him practice for going on two years now, so we know he has some talent," Hokies coach Justin Fuente told reporters after the 31-14 win over the Blue Devils.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (5-0)

No one is happier to have Book at the helm than senior wide receiver Myles Boykin (20 catches for 311 yards) as the two hooked up 11 times for 144 yards and a touchdown against Stanford. The Irish also got a huge offensive boost from senior running back Dexter Williams, who ran for 161 yards and a touchdown in his first game of the season after missing the first four for disciplinary reasons. It wasn’t all good news last weekend for Notre Dame, however, as it lost its best offensive lineman Alex Bars for the season to a knee injury, while running back Tony Jones Jr. suffered a sprained ankle and is questionable this week.

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (3-1)

This game could come down to which Virginia Tech defense shows up - the one that allowed 600 yards and seven touchdowns to Old Dominion two weeks ago or the one that limited Duke to 327 yards and 4-of-16 on third down conversions last week. Offensively, the Hokies kept humming with Willis, a transfer from Kansas, under center as the junior found nine different receivers for 17 catches against Duke, including four for 65 yards and a touchdown to sophomore Damon Hazelton. Another key to this matchup will be the Hokies’ offensive line, a unit that limited Duke to one sack last week, against Notre Dame’s front seven that recorded five sacks and four quarterback hurries a week ago.

EXTRA POINTS

1. This is Notre Dame’s first trip to Blacksburg, Va., and only the second all-time meeting between the schools. Virginia Tech won 34-31 at Notre Dame in 2016.

2. Notre Dame piled up 550 yards of total offense against Stanford while limiting the Cardinal to 31 total yards in the second half.

3. Fighting Irish DL Jerry Tillery equaled a program record with four sacks against the Cardinal.

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 42, Virginia Tech 35

More college football scores