Game Preview: Virginia Football vs. No. 9 Notre Dame

Everything you need to know about the Cavaliers’ primetime showdown with the Fighting Irish on Saturday night

Matt Newton | Nov 12, 2021

Game Details

Who: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-1) vs. Virginia Cavaliers (6-3)

When: Saturday, November 13th at 7:30pm

Where: Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: ABC

SI Sportsbook Odds: Notre Dame -5.5

All-time series: Notre Dame leads 3-0

Last meeting: No. 18 Virginia lost at No. 10 Notre Dame 35-20 on September 28, 2019. Bryce Perkins threw two touchdown passes to Hasise Dubois and Joe Reed in the first half and UVA led 17-14 at halftime. Notre Dame came back in the second half and scored three straight touchdowns to take control of the game and the Fighting Irish went on to hand the Cavaliers their first loss of the season.

Notre Dame this Season

Notre Dame is in the midst of yet another solid season and there remains a small possibility that the Fighting Irish could sneak into the College Football Playoff if the chaos which has defined this college football season continues. Notre Dame has lost just one game, a 24-13 loss at home against current No. 5 Cincinnati on October 2nd. Since then, Notre Dame has picked up a tough 32-29 victory at Virginia Tech and home wins over USC, North Carolina, and Navy. The Fighting Irish also have strong wins over Purdue (27-13) and Wisconsin (41-13), but they struggled early in the season in close wins over Florida State (41-38 OT) and Toledo (32-29).

The Irish have the 41st-best defense in the country in terms of scoring at 22.4 points allowed per game. How Virginia’s high-octane offense fares against that Notre Dame defense will likely be the main determinant in whether this game is close or not. Notre Dame has the 34th-best scoring offense in the nation at 32.8 points per game and Virginia’s defensive performances in their last two games (106 total points allowed) have not exactly inspired confidence that the Hoos will be able to get the Fighting Irish off the field without scoring. So, the Cavalier offense will likely have to score at a frenetic pace to keep up with Notre Dame.

By the Numbers

Virginia	By the Numbers	Notre Dame
38.9 points per game	Scoring Offense	32.8 points per game
144.2 yards per game	Rushing	133.0 yards per game
401.0 yards per game	Passing	260.7 yards per game
545.2 yards per game	Total Offense	393.7 yards per game
30.8 ppg allowed	Scoring Defense	22.4 ppg allowed
466.2 ypg allowed	Total Defense	371.1 ypg allowed
-4	Turnover Differential	+6
+73	Scoring Differential	+93

Notre Dame Players to Watch

Running back Kyren Williams

Williams has totaled 160 carries for 802 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Much of that production has come recently, as Williams is in the midst of a mid-season emergence. Williams recorded 95 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Navy, 199 yards and a touchdown against UNC, and 138 yards and two touchdowns against USC. He is ranked 36th nationally in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is also a threat in the passing game and is second on the team in receptions with 34 catches for 293 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Stopping him will be important, but challenging for a UVA defense that allowed BYU’s Tyler Allgeier to run all over them for 266 yards and five touchdowns two weeks ago.

Quarterback Jack Coan

Notre Dame has had a bit of a quarterback situation between Jack Coan and Tyler Buchner, but Coan seems to have distanced himself as the starter in the last three weeks, playing the majority of the snaps in the three victories for the Irish. Coan is 159/243 (65.4%) this season for 1,879 passing yards and 13 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He has led Notre Dame to be the 38th-best passing offense in the country at 260.7 yards per game. While that is nothing compared to the 401.0 passing yards per game for Virginia’s offense, the Cavaliers have needed every bit of those 400 passing yards each game, since the UVA defense is yielding 466.2 yards per game, 122nd in the NCAA.

Tight End Michael Mayer

Coan is surrounded by several weapons in the Notre Dame passing game, including explosive wide receivers like Kevin Austin and Avery Davis. However, the most talented receiver on the team is tight end Michael Mayer, who leads the Fighting Irish with 45 receptions for 493 yards and three touchdowns. Mayer struggled with injuries at the beginning of the year, but he is healthy now and looking like one of the best tight ends in the sport. Virginia has not faced a tight end as talented as Mayer this season and it is crucial that the Cavaliers not lose track of him in the middle of the field.

Three Keys to the Game for Virginia

Protect the quarterback

We still do not know if Brennan Armstrong will be Virginia’s starter at quarterback on Saturday night. It seems that Bronco Mendenhall and the UVA coaching staff are going to give Armstrong to the last possible second before kickoff to see if he can play. If Armstrong cannot start, he will turn the offense over to true freshman Jay Woolfolk for his first career start. Regardless of who is at quarterback against Notre Dame, it is imperative that the Virginia offensive line protect that player. If Armstrong is playing with his injured ribs, protecting him from taking any type of hit from the Fighting Irish needs to be a top priority for the Hoos. If Woolfolk is the quarterback, then the Cavaliers will want to give him a clean pocket and time to throw so that he can settle into the flow of the offense. Either way, quarterback protection is crucial for Virginia.

Defense needs to have a pulse

Armstrong or no Armstrong, the Virginia defense needs to show signs of life if the Cavaliers want to avoid a repeat of the abomination in Provo, wherein UVA gave up 66 points and 734 yards of total offense. It is unreasonable to expect Virginia to totally restrain Notre Dame’s offense, but if the Cavaliers can come up with a few stops and hold the Fighting Irish to some punts and field goals, instead of touchdowns, UVA might just have a chance. Bend, but don’t break.

Contain Kyren Williams

Virginia’s tackling was abysmal against BYU two weeks ago. Tyler Allgeier is a talented running back, but a player does not rack up 266 rushing yards and five touchdowns on talent alone. UVA’s poor positioning and tackling was a key factor in the loss. Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams is an even more capable running back than Allgeier and Williams is hot right now, going for 432 yards and five touchdowns in the last three games. Again, the UVA defense does not have to totally stop Williams. Just keep the big plays to a minimum and make Williams and Irish work hard for their yards.

What’s at Stake

They will need a lot of help in the forms of losses by the teams ranked above them, but the Fighting Irish still technically have a shot at the College Football Playoff. To give themselves that chance, Notre Dame needs to win out.

Virginia would love to be the team to officially eliminate Notre Dame from playoff contention. The Cavaliers are looking to avenge a couple of painful losses to the Fighting Irish in recent memory and pick up their first ever victory over Notre Dame in their fourth try.

Beyond that, this game is essentially meaningless for Virginia’s ACC aspirations. The consequential games await UVA at Pittsburgh next week and at home against Virginia Tech to end the season. If the Cavaliers win both, they will repeat as ACC Coastal Champions and return to the ACC Championship.

Still, the Hoos would love to knock off the Fighting Irish in what would be a program-defining win.