Game Recap: Notre Dame defense dominates Virginia

After a back and forth first half that saw Notre Dame down against No.18 Virginia, Clark Lea’s defense took over the game in a convincing win Saturday afternoon.

Notre Dame fans wanted Julian Okwara to make a big impact after a somewhat slow start to the season, and he made his impact felt from the get-go. While the Irish defense continues to impress under defensive coordinator Clark Lea, the Irish offense remains a question mark moving forward.

The first quarter started with a bang, as both offenses got off to hot starts. Notre Dame won the toss and deferred for the first time I can really remember under Brian Kelly. Virginia took quick advantage, going down the field quickly for a 7-0 lead. Chip Long’s offense was more methodical in their approach, and were bailed out by a few Cavalier penalties. One of three Tony Jones touchdown runs ties the game up at 7.

Virginia once again looked pretty good on offense, moving the ball through the air. However, Julian Okwara makes his first huge impact play of the year and forces a fumble from QB Bryce Perkins — setting the Irish offense up in good field position. With Jafar Armstrong still out, Notre Dame continues to find ways to get the running game going. C’Bo Flemister gets the call in the second series. First, he picks up a first down on a delayed pass by Book. On the next play, he breaks multiple tackles on his way to an 11 yard touchdown run. 14-7 Irish.

It would end up 14-10 after both offense trade field goal opportunities — Virginia made and Notre Dame miss.

With under two minutes left in the first half, the Virginia offense would put a great drive together, ending in a touchdown to go up 17-14 at halftime. Perkins found his big wide receiver Hasise Dubois on an deep fade over Tariq Bracy. Dubois would finish the game with 9 catches for 143 yards.

If any if you read our staff predictions, you’ll notice I expected a tough first half — not necessarily down at half — but that Notre Dame would pull away in the second half. That is exactly what happened.

After the Virginia special teams came out with a beautifully designed onside kick to keep the ball, it was all Irish defense the rest of the way — forcing four turnovers in the second half and their best sack total in a long, long time. The Cavaliers started with great field position on both drives to start the third quarter, but the Notre Dame defense would force a three and out a strip sack from Jamir Jones — seeing additional playing time with Daelin Hayes out with a shoulder — and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa would nearly run it in for six. Two plays later, Tony Jones Jr. would grab his second touchdown of the game and put Notre Dame up 21-17.

A muffed punt by Chris Finke and few drives with nothing doing by both offenses would precede the Jones score, but another strip sack — this time by Okwara — would lead to a fumble recovery touchdown by Ade Ogundeji. Irish up 28-17. Meanwhile, the Notre Dame offense continued to struggle, putting a ton of pressure on the defense to keep up their stellar play.

As the second half went on, the Notre Dame offense would finally find a groove on the ground with Jones, and he would break through for a game defining 30 yard touchdown run. He would finish the day with 131 yards rushing, 3 touchdowns for an average of 7.1 yards per carry. And a sigh of relief — at least for the day — from the Irish faithful.

The Virginia offense would eventually tack on another field goal against soft coverage, and the game would finish 35-20 Notre Dame.

An overall dominant performance at home for the Irish against a very solid Virginia team. The defense came up with their best effort of the year, and the stars performed as expected. Three sacks from Okwara, Kareem 2.5 sacks, Gilman and Hamilton both with a pick, Ogundegi with a fumble recovery for a touchdown — and the list goes on. The second half for the Notre Dame defense was really something to behold.

As for the offense, Ian Book continued to struggle reading the defense. Many times it seemed as though a receiver was open and he didn’t keep his eyes downfield and bailed from the pocket too quickly. Fortunately, the rushing attack stepped up and finished drives for points. Up next, Bowling Green before some more tests come against USC and at Michigan.

But for now, enjoy the win against a talented and well coached ranked ACC team, and Go Irish!