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Notre Dame vs Virginia Position By Position Breakdown

By Matt Clark

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 14: Jalen Elliott #21, Khalid Kareem, and Daelin Hayes #9 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish pose to celebrate the victory against the New Mexico Lobos at Notre Dame Stadium on September 14, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 14: Jalen Elliott #21, Khalid Kareem, and Daelin Hayes #9 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish pose to celebrate the victory against the New Mexico Lobos at Notre Dame Stadium on September 14, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /
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ATHENS, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on during the second quarter while playing the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Special Teams

Virginia Cavaliers Placekicker-Brian Delaney: 5’10”, 200 pound, junior, 2 star recruit out of Chantilly, VA

5 for 8 on field goal attempts, 62.5%, long field goal of 49 yards, 16 of 17 on extra point attempts

Virginia Cavaliers Punter-Nash Griffen: 6’2″, 225 pound, junior, out of Indianapolis, IN

14 punts, 40.7 yard average punt, 49 yard longest punt

Virginia Cavaliers Kick Returner-Joe Reed: 6’1″, 215 pound, senior, 3 star recruit out of Charlotte Court House, VA

8 kick returns for 302 yards and a touchdown, with a longest return of 100 yards

Virginia Cavaliers Punt Returner-Billy Kemp IV: 5’9″, 175 pound, sophomore, 3 star recruit out of Highland Springs, VA.

8 punt returns for 61 yards, with a longest return of 22 yards

Notre Dame Irish Placekicker-Jonathan Doerer: 6’3″, 190 pound, junior, 3 star recruit out of Charlotte, NC.

2 for2 in field goal attempts, 36 yard longest field goal, 14 for 14 in extra point attempts

Notre Dame Punter-Jay Bramblett: 6’2″, 175 pound, freshman, 3 star recruit out of Tuscaloosa, AL.

14 punts, averaging 42.1 yards, with a longest punt of 58  yards

Notre Dame Kick Returner-Lawrence Keys III: 5’11”, 160 pound, sophomore, 4 star recruit out of New Orleans, LA.

One kickoff return for 45 yards

Notre Dame Punt Returner-Chris Finke: 5’9″, 185 pound, senior, former walk-on from Dayton, OH.

Two punt returns for 15 yards, with a longest return of 17 yards

Advantage-Draw

Notre Dame possesses the better kicker and punter in this game.  Both were very good against a tough Georgia team.  Virginia has the edge in the return game, due to the explosiveness of Reed, who already has taken a return back 100 yards for a touchdown on the year.

Head Coach

Virginia Cavaliers-Bronco Mendenhall

Fourth year as the Virginia head coach, with a record of 19-22 during his tenure with Virginia.

Notre Dame Irish-Brian Kelly

Tenth year as the Notre Dame head coach, with a record of 62-35* during his tenure with the Irish.

Advantage-Notre Dame

Next. Irish need balance on offense. dark

Brian Kelly’s experience and history of success at a premier Notre Dame program give him the upper hand. That said, Bronco Mendenhall was successful for 10 years at BYU prior to coming to  Virginia. At Virginia, he has resurrected the program, producing nationally ranked teams along the way. Due to this success, his name is being thrown around as a replacement at many of the big programs around the nation. It will be interesting to see how Kelly game plans against the elite pass rush schemes of Bronco Mendenhall.

*not including vacated wins

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