Notre Dame football vs Virginia Tech: 3 Bold Predictions in Week 6

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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 10: Javonte Williams #25 of the North Carolina Tar Heels steps out of a tackle by Amare Barno #38 of the Virginia Tech Hokies during their game at Kenan Stadium on October 10, 2020, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 56-45. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football vs Virginia Tech: 3 Bold Predictions in Week 6

Virginia Tech Will Have More Than Four Sacks

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Notre Dame offensive line has stunk. To put it statistically, Notre Dame is 127th in the country in sacks allowed. They’re tied with North Carolina for the 127 spots, and the only two teams worse are Southern Miss and Akron. The Irish are allowing 4.4 sacks per game, and have given up a total of 22 sacks.

On the other side, Virginia Tech is going to get to the quarterback. They’re 17th in team sacks, with 13 in four games, or 3.25 sacks per game. Of course, you do have to take some consideration into the level of their previous competition, including that North Carolina team tied with Notre Dame for 127th. In that game, Virginia Tech sacked Sam Howell 6 times.

Expect them to perform similarly against this overwhelmed offensive line.

These sacks and pressure create major issues. They throw drives off schedule and can hurt a struggling offense. They can force bad throws and interceptions like Tyler Buchner threw against Cincinnati. They can force fumbles on strip sacks, like Drew Pyne against Wisconsin.

This could be an insane game for the offensive line.

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