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Notre Dame Football: 3 Bold Predictions vs. Virginia Tech

By Chase Eyrich

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 29: Nic Weishar #82 and Cole Kmet #84 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a first down during the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium on September 29, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 29: Nic Weishar #82 and Cole Kmet #84 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a first down during the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium on September 29, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 15: Dexter Williams #2 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs the ball against the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium on October 15, 2016 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame will not surpass 200 rushing yards.

To start out the season, there wasn’t much of a running game. With 253 total rushing yards over the first two games for Notre Dame made it seem like there was an irreplaceable hole to fill with the departure of Josh Adams.

While Tony Jones Jr. and Jafar Armstrong gave the Irish hope, it’s a tall task to fill the shoes of Adams. Yet, there were a lot of positives while watching those two.

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Their worth was much more visible in the last three games when the Irish rushed for 245, 241 and 272 yards respectively.

The 272 rushing yards that came in last weeks victory over Stanford had more to do with the long-awaited return of Dexter Williams. After missing the first four games, Williams popped off for 161 yards averaging 7.7 yards per carry.

The first time he touched the ball it was evident how ready he was. The running back slipped right through Stanford’s defense and put on the jets for a 45-yard touchdown.

Williams’ success came at a price. After the game, Williams mentioned that he had never been so sore after a game, which makes sense considering the last meaningful game he played in was the Citrus Bowl on January 1st and he’s never had this type of workload. Kelly has also mentioned that there will not be a limit on his workload this weekend.

It will all come down to how Williams recovers and how much gas he will have for Virginia Tech. With Jones Jr. suffering an ankle injury, we don’t know how much of an impact he will have on the game. On top of that, Armstrong is not expected to be available with an infected knee.

It’s likely that more pressure will be put on Williams and Notre Dame will have a slower running day.

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