Notre Dame Football: Top Storylines vs Virginia

After a tough loss to Georgia in Athens a week ago, Notre Dame football returns to South Bend looking to rebound vs No. 18 Virginia.

Last weekend Notre Dame gave the Bulldogs of Georgia just about all they could handle, taking them to the wire before falling short on 4th down with under a minute left. The Irish undoubtedly impressed many and surprised a lot more with their performance, as it was expected by most college football fans and SEC talking heads that Georgia would absolutely roll all night long.

While there are many great takeaways from Notre Dame’s performance, such as the play of the defense, Cole Kmet, and somewhat improved play-calling, at the end of the day, there are no moral victories in college football and the Irish came up short on a big stage once again.

With the close loss, Notre Dame only slipped to No. 10 in the AP Poll and very much kept their playoff hopes alive. Although it’s going to be an uphill battle making it back to the CFP, playing Georgia close was the best-worst case scenario, and still gives the Irish a solid resume if that game ends up being their only loss.

The biggest factor now for Brian Kelly and company to make a return to the CFP, or at the very least keep their season on track, is to put the Georgia game behind them and focus on the Virginia Cavaliers, who come into South Bend 4-0 on the year.

After a scare from Old Dominion a week ago, Virginia enters this week’s game looking to match their best start to a season since 2004, where they started 5-0 before losing to No. 7 Florida State.

Although two of Virginia’s first four games have been vs lesser opponents (William & Mary and Old Dominion), they are averaging 35 points a game on offense and are giving up just 18 points per game defensively — tied with Notre Dame at No. 28 nationally.

This game will be a huge test for this Notre Dame team and where they are mentally, as they jump right back in the fire vs. a Top-20 opponent.

There is no time for this team to feel sorry for themselves, as one of the most critical points of the season is upon them. With USC and Michigan on the horizon, these coaches and players have to lick their wounds and get back into the ring ready to roll, or it could turn into a long season.

Let’s take a look at the top storylines heading into this week’s matchup with Virginia.