Stat Comparison: How Virginia Stacks Up Against Notre Dame on Paper

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Virginia (5-4, 3-3 ACC) will look to earn another road ranked victory in week 12 as UVA heads to South Bend to take on No. 8 Notre Dame (8-1). As the Cavaliers and Fighting Irish prepare to clash on Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium, we've got a full statistical breakdown to see how these two teams match up on paper as well as some statistical notes on Notre Dame.

See the chart below for a full statistical comparison for Virginia vs. Notre Dame.

Virginia

Stat Comparison

Notre Dame

5-4 (3-3 ACC)

Record

8-1

26.0

Scoring Offense

38.3

398.2

Total Offense

412.1

143.8

Rushing Offense

214.8

3.9

Yards Per Rush

6.0

254.4

Passing Offense

197.3

63.6%

Completion %

63.9%

48/135 (36%)

3rd Down Conv.

42/102 (41%)

10/19 (53%)

4th Down Conv.

13/17 (76%)

29/36 (81%)

Red Zone Scores

30/33 (91%)

14/36 (39%)

Red Zone TDs

26/33 (79%)

12

Turnovers

8

11

Forced Turnovers

20

26.7

Scoring Defense

11.1

395.8

Total Defense

274.6

132.9

Rushing Defense

126.0

262.9

Passing Defense

148.6

49/127 (39%)

3rd Down Defense

35/124 (28%)

12/20 (60%)

4th Down Defense

9/25 (36%)

15-70

Sacks by-yards

26-192

30:21

Time of Possession

30:20

See below for individual stat summaries for each team's starting quarterback, top receiver, top running back, and top defender (statistically).

Quarterback
UVA Anthony Colandrea: 172/272 (63.2%), 1,948 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 259 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
ND Riley Leonard: 145/225 (64.4%), 1,575 passing yards, 9 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 608 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns

Top Receiver
UVA Malachi Fields: 45 receptions, 665 receiving yards, 4 receiving touchdowns, 14.8 yards per catch
ND Beaux Collins: 29 receptions, 374 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 12.9 yards per catch

Top Running Back
UVA Kobe Pace: 100 carries, 442 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, 4.4 yards per carry
ND Jeremiyah Love: 98 carries, 583 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 5.9 yards per carry

Top Defender
UVA Jonas Sanker: 69 total tackles, 47 solo stops, 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 1 quarterback hurry
ND Jack Kiser: 49 total tackles, 30 solo stops, 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback hurry, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble

Some more notable statistics on Notre Dame:

  • Notre Dame is ranked third in all of college football in turnover margin, forcing 20 turnovers while committing only eight turnovers. Fueling that stat are Notre Dame's 12 interceptions as a team, 15th-most in the country.
  • The Fighting Irish have the nation's third-ranked scoring defense, allowing just 11.1 points per game to their opponents. Only Ohio State and Army have better scoring defenses statistically this season. The Irish have allowed only 11 touchdowns this season, second-fewest in the country.
  • Notre Dame is ranked fourth in the nation in third down defense, allowing opponents to move the chains on only 28.2% of third down attempts.
  • The Fighting Irish have racked up 26 sacks as a team this season, tied for 18th-most in the FBS.
  • Notre Dame is ranked 24th in the country in red zone offense, scoring on nearly 91% of its trips to the red zone and scoring touchdowns on 26 of 33 red zone trips so far this season.
  • The Fighting Irish are outscoring their opponents 107-23 in the second quarter and 82-14 in the third quarter this season.
  • Notre Dame is ranked 12th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 214.8 yards per game. The Irish have scored 30 rushing touchdowns this season, sixth-most in the FBS.

More Virginia Football News

UVA Football: Players to Watch in Virginia vs. Notre Dame

UVA Football Week 12 Injury Report: Antonio Clary Out for the Season

Virginia Football Depth Chart vs. Notre Dame | Takeaways, Analysis

Virginia Football: ACC Football Week 12 Power Rankings

UVA Football Report Card: Handing Out Grades for Virginia vs. Pittsburgh


Published
Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.