Notre Dame Football: Five Problematic Virginia Tech Hokies

After the worst regular season loss in years, Notre Dame returns home to take on Virginia Tech.

To say last week didn’t go as planned would be putting it lightly. In a must win game, Notre Dame failed to show up and was embarrassed. As a result, there are no more Playoff hopes. There may not even be any more New Year’s Six hopes.

If Notre Dame wants to reverse those fortunes, they are going to have to put up “style points” and soundly defeat every opponent left. That starts Saturday with Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech is 5-2 on the season, with their losses to Virginia Tech and real bad blowout loss to Duke by a score of 45-10. They beat Miami on the road, but the bad loss to Duke and needing overtime to beat North Carolina is enough to question whether the Hokes are a real threat.

Virginia Tech is still in the thick of the ACC Coastal race at 2-2 in conference. The Hokies are tied with Pitt, while Virginia and North Carolina stand ahead of them at 3-2.

A win for Notre Dame over a potential ACC Coastal Champion would be a nice boost, but it may be too late.

The talent is there for Virginia Tech and if Notre Dame gives the same “effort” as they did against Michigan, every Hokie could problematic. And if Notre Dame does actually show up, these five could still present problems.

Hendon Hooker, QB

A redshirt sophomore, Hooker certainly wasn’t expected to be starting this season. Hooker took over for Ryan Willis during the Miami game and has lead the Hokies to three straight wins. He did leave last week’s game against North Carolina with a knee injury, so that is definitely something to watch.

Hooker has completed 57 percent of his passes this year. He does have an impressive 7-0 touchdown to interception ratio. He also has 156 yards rushing, so he does have the ability to make things happen with his legs, although it’s not necessarily a strength. Hooker has been the spark on the Virginia Tech offense that they’ve desperately needed. Notre Dame needs watch out on Saturday or Hooker can do some damage.

Deshawn McClease, RB

A redshirt junior, McClease is the most important running back on the team. He almost wasn’t even on the team, as he was in the transfer portal at one point. McClease is an impressive blend of power and speed. He’s very tough to tackle. He’s not a huge receiving threat, but he made one of the best catches of the year against Rhode Island, even if it didn’t count.

McClease has 475 yards on the ground this season on 97 carries, good for a solid 4.9 yards per carry. He’s only 55 yards away from breaking his single season high, which he stands a great chance of doing Saturday. Over his last 4 games, McClease is averaging 6.3 yards per carry. After what Notre Dame did (or more importantly, didn’t do) against Michigan, McClease could keep up his solid pace.

Rayshard Ashby, LB

At 5’10, 237 pounds, Ashby is a very impressive player. He’s everywhere on the field, so much so that you’d think there’s more than one of him. He’s got excellent field awareness and great instincts. The way he plays is similar to former Notre Dame linebacker Joe Schmidt.

The numbers are impressive. He leads the team in tackles with 71. His 10 tackles for loss and 3 sacks have each surpassed his totals from last season. Barring injury, Ashby will have no problem surpassing last year’s 105 tackles. Ashby is coming off ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors for an incredible 17 tackle performance against North Carolina. As rough as Virginia Tech’s defense has been this year, Ashby has been one of the best in the country.

Chamarri Conner, Nickel

Another solid Hokie defender, Conner is a sophomore that at this time next year, we could be talking about as an All-American candidate. Conner had offers from Michigan and Florida, as well as an elite defense in Michigan State. Like Hendon Hooker, Conner is was hampered by an injury against North Carolina — a minor hamstring injury that he was able to play though.

Conner’s 39 tackles are third on the team. Five of his tackles were for loss, which is second to only Ashby. His four sacks lead the team. He also has seven passes defended and forced a key fumble against Miami.

Caleb Farley, CB

With three guys this good, you almost wonder how Virginia Tech’s defense is giving up almost 30 points per game. Farley isn’t setting the world on fire with his tackles — only 14 on the season — but he does a lot of things well. He’s yet another Hokie dealing with an injury. He left the North Carolina game with a head injury, but he’s been practicing this week.

Farley has been excellent in coverage this season. He has 10 passes defended and three interceptions. Per Pro Football Focus, Farley has a 39.6 passer rating allowed and an 81.9 overall grade. Farley is a quiet star, and the matchup against Chase Claypool should be great to watch.