EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 6^th, the (5-0) Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be on the road to take on the (3-1) Virginia Tech Hokies.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Notre Dame 32.2 – Virginia Tech 24.3 with an over/under of 56.5.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Notre Dame 32 – Virginia Tech 18.

Mark is predicting a final score of Virginia Tech 31 – Notre Dame 30.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Virginia Tech 275.5 YPG > Notre Dame 241.0 YPG

Rushing offense: Virginia Tech 204.0 YPG > Notre Dame 201.4 YPG

Scoring offense: Virginia Tech 38.0 PPG > Notre Dame 32.8 PPG

Scoring defense: Notre Dame 18.8 PPG > Virginia Tech 20.8 PPG

Passing defense: Notre Dame 213.6 YPG > Virginia Tech 304.0 PPG

Rushing defense: Virginia Tech 84.0 PPG > Notre Dame 127.0 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Virginia Tech +1.7 > Notre Dame +0.8

Summary:

Notre Dame is (5-0) to start the season with wins over #14 Michigan, Ball State, #7 Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.  The Fighting Irish rank 52^nd in points per game (32.8) and 27^th scoring defense (18.8 PPG).  Head Coach Brian Kelly made the decision to bench ineffective quarterback Brandon Wimbush in favor of Ian Book and it has paid off immensely.  Since taking over the reigns, Book has completed 74% of his passes for 616 yards with 7 touchdowns to 0 interceptions.  The backfield tandem of Tony Jones Jr. and Jafar Armstrong has combined for 548 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns.  Defensively, Notre Dame has held four of their five opponents to 17 or fewer points.  The Fighting Irish are coming off a tremendous win over Stanford which they outgained the Cardinal 550-229 in total yardage.

Virginia Tech is (3-1) with wins over #19 Florida State, William & Mary, and #22 Duke.  They were shockingly upset on the road in week four by Old Dominion.  The Hokies rank 32^nd in points per game (38.0) and 37^th in scoring defense (20.8 PPG).  Virginia Tech suffered a blow when starting quarterback Josh Jackson suffered a serious injury in the loss to ODU but Ryan Willis has done an excellent job filling the void.  Willis has completed 57% of his passes for 527 yards with 4 touchdowns to 0 interceptions.  Steven Peoples leads the team in rushing with 302 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Damon Hazelton is the team’s most dangerous receiver with 348 yards (23.2 YPC) and 4 touchdowns.  Virginia Tech is 5^th in the nation at defending the run (84.0 YPG) and 123^rd at defending the pass (307.0 YPG).  The Hokies rank 4^th out of 130 teams in turnover margin (+1.7).

Bottom Line:

Brian Kelly’s bold decision to bench Brandon Wimbush may be what saves Notre Dame’s season and allows them to go undefeated.  Ian Book has been sensational in his limited duty and his prolific passing numbers have really opened up the rushing attack.  The Hokies are without their starting quarterback Josh Jackson and will find yards tough to come by against a Fighting Irish defense that stymied Notre Dame.  Look for Ian Book to torch a weak Virginia Tech secondary and the Fighting Irish to take this one on the road.

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