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Notre Dame football: Virginia will be no match for the 2021 Irish

By Daniel Morrison

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterback Malik Zaire #8 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rushes past defensive end Mike Moore #32 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the third quarter at Scott Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won, 34-27. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterback Malik Zaire #8 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rushes past defensive end Mike Moore #32 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the third quarter at Scott Stadium on September 12, 2015 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won, 34-27. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – NOVEMBER 21: Adeeb Atariwa #95 and the Virginia Cavaliers defensive line gets set against the Abilene Christian Wildcats in the first half during a game at Scott Stadium on November 21, 2020, in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – NOVEMBER 21: Adeeb Atariwa #95 and the Virginia Cavaliers defensive line gets set against the Abilene Christian Wildcats in the first half during a game at Scott Stadium on November 21, 2020, in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: Virginia will be no match for the 2021 Irish

Virginia’s Defense

There is no nice way to say that defense was bad, but Virginia was bad last season. Really bad. More than 30 points a game and 443 yards per game bad. Three teams scored more than 40 points on Virginia, while three others got above 30 points.

It wasn’t just Clemson doing that to them either, with the Wake Forests of the conference.

The Cavaliers did force turnovers on defense, which has always been important but is even more important in the modern era of college football where defenses are less likely to force punts and need to end drives in different ways. They were also ok at their run defense, but that might only be because of how bad their pass defense was that no one bothered to try and run on them.

The hope for Virginia is that their defense, now with more experience, is going to take a step forward, but that might not be a good thing to bet on. The linebackers are fine, but there really aren’t any special players there.

Good size on the defensive line helps in the running game, while good depth makes this the best unit on Virginia’s defense.

As for the secondary, the nicest thing you can say is that they have a lot of players returning and good experience. What they put on tape is awful, though. Hopefully, Virginia’s Joey Blount will be able to emerge as the standout defensive back, but that may not be enough.

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