Everything You Need To Know: Notre Dame

By: Kris Wright |
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Mike Moore and the Hoos face their second straight top 15 opponent. ~ Mike Ingalls

The Notre Dame football team has played in 35 states, but has never played in Virginia. That changes when the Fighting Irish kick off against UVa in Charlottesville on Saturday. The Irish are the latest glamour team to play in Scott Stadium, which has seen the likes of Oregon, UCLA, and Penn State in recent years.

ND coach Brian Kelly has heard a lot about the town.

“I have not been to Charlottesville. I’m looking forward to it,” Kelly said. “I hear it’s a great town, great restaurants, great music, great culture. I think when you visit stadiums, for me, I grew up in Boston, I look for that iconic structure like a Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, you always look for that when you go to the stadiums, especially the college stadiums. You’re always looking for that kind of special look. I was a Division II head coach. I like grass berms and things like that. It will be fun to take a look at the stadium.”

If Kelly likes berms, he’ll likely enjoy Scott Stadium with the picturesque hill below HooVision … unless the Hoos can pull off an upset that is. Here is “Everything You Need To Know” about the showdown with No. 9 Notre Dame.

Essentials

Game Nuggets

  • Notre Dame leads the series 1-0. The teams faced off at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Aug. 31, 1989, with the Irish claiming a 36-13 victory in Kickoff Classic VII.
  • Notre Dame has won 12 of its last 14 games played in the month of September. The Irish are 38-13 since Sept. 17, 2011, the 14th-best record nationally. Coach Brian Kelly is eighth in the nation among active FBS coaches with his .736 career winning percentage.
  • Virginia is 90-28-7 (.748) all-time in home openers. The Cavaliers have won four of five home openers under coach Mike London. UVa has won 24 of its last 30 home openers, including 12 straight from 1985-96.
  • Notre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 275 of its previous 324 games (.849) overall. Saturday’s game is the 445th all-time football game inside Scott Stadium.
  • There will be presentations to honor the Men’s Capital One Cup win and the National Championships for the men’s soccer, men’s tennis, and baseball teams during the game.

Spotlight On Notre Dame’s Malik Zaire

Virginia faced highly touted recruit Josh Rosen in his first start as UCLA’s quarterback last Saturday. Rosen lit up the defense with 351 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-35 passing. The challenge doesn’t get any easier this week against Notre Dame’s Malik Zaire, who was ranked third on Rivals.com list of dual-threat quarterbacks in his class coming out of high school.

This will mark just Zaire’s third start overall for the Irish. The good news? It is his first road start. The bad news? He’s been really good in his first two starts. He completed 12 of 15 passes for 96 yards and one TD and ran for 96 yards and one TD on 22 carries in a 31-28 Music City Bowl win against LSU. Last week, he scorched Texas with 313 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-22 passing.

UVa had trouble getting into the pocket to pressure Rosen, while also leaving some potential escape lanes open in the loss to UCLA. If the same issues appear against the Irish, Zaire could have a big day in Charlottesville.

“Malik, he’s a complete player in terms of a quarterback,” Virginia coach Mike London said. “He was putting the ball on people [against Texas]. He carried the ball. He’s a guy that can run. He is a part of the arsenal for their running game. Notre Dame does a great job with different formations and exotic plays and things like that, and when you have a guy that touches the ball 100 percent of the time and you can run the ball, play action pass off of it, do unusual formations and him still be a threat with his legs and with his arm, then you make him a threat overall because of what he can do.”

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Virginia needs better play from its offensive line if it is going to produce more points. ~ Ashley Thornton/aft photography

Matchups To Watch

Notre Dame receiver Will Fuller vs. Virginia corner Maurice Canady and the secondary. While QB Malik Zaire got the spotlight above, Fuller is the scariest offensive player on the roster for UVa fans. Fuller is a dynamite receiver: 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns (single season program record) last season and a at least one touchdown catch in 11 of 13 games. He opened this season with seven catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns against Texas. Canady won’t get the one-on-one assignment all the time Saturday, but he’s the marquee cover corner for the Hoos. Regardless, if breakdowns in technique and coverage occur like they did at UCLA, Fuller will take advantage.

Virginia center Jackson Matteo vs. Notre Dame tackles Sheldon Day and Daniel Cage and the defensive line. Matteo didn’t have his best game at UCLA, getting smashed at the point of attack numerous times against a strong set of interior tackles. It doesn’t get any easier this week. Day, a 6’2″, 285-pound senior, has 16.5 tackles for loss in his career. Cage, a 6’1″, 315-pound sophomore, is just beginning his career as a starter but he’s a handful. If Matteo can’t hold his own or if double teams are necessary, it frees up the ends for one-on-one work against the likes of tackles Michael Mooney and Eric Smith and UVa struggled with speed rushes last week.

Virginia receiver Canaan Severin vs. Notre Dame corner KeiVarae Russell and the secondary. Severin led UVa in receiving last season and started off his senior year with five catches and 58 yards at UCLA. He’s particularly effective between the seams where Matt Johns can easily find him for connections. With that said, Johns seemed locked in on Severin a lot last week and only two other receivers caught passes (Andre Levrone with two and Olamide Zaccheaus with one). Teams will begin to shadow Severin and running back Taquan Mizzell if other wideouts don’t step up to the challenge. Look for Russell, who has started all 27 games in his career, and company to start that strategy this weekend.

Notre Dame tackle Ronnie Stanley vs. Virginia defensive end Mike Moore and the pass rush. Stanley has started 27 straight games (13 at right tackle followed by 14 at left tackle) for the Irish. Last season as a junior, he was outstanding with 16 knockdown blocks and one sack allowed. That came against stiff competition with Louisville, USC, Stanford, and others on the schedule. He won’t be intimidated by a UVa pass rush that struggled last week. The Hoos picked up just one sack. Moore managed just three tackles on the edge and didn’t pressure the pocket much, but he wasn’t alone as the entire front line struggled. ND’s line is experienced and talented so it may be another long week for the defense if Moore and company can’t get going.

Kris’ Keys

1. More. More play action, more bootlegs, more downfield throws, more variety, more creativity … more points. Offense remains a huge problem for UVa and it’s not just the red zone touchdown percentage that’s gotten so much play this week. Virginia averaged 4.87 yards per play (YPP) at UCLA and currently ranks 96th in the nation; the other two years under Steve Fairchild have produced 5.08 YPP (103rd in 2014) and 4.44 YPP (119th in 2013). Last season: 245 runs on first down vs. 134 passes (that total ranked 92nd nationally in 2014 FYI). Last week: 19 runs and 10 passes on first down. Same plan this week. Same results. The Hoos are 7-18 with this offensive system in place. It’s all too conservative and unexplosive to have a chance against the elite teams in college football.

2. Reduce the penalties. Mistakes happen so you’re going to have some penalties in games, but Virginia draws a lot of flags for mental mistakes like offsides, delay of game, and kicking out of bounds from last week’s game for example. Consistent mistakes in those categories get you beat.

3. Maintain your lanes. This one applies twice. On defense, it is important to be solid with rush lanes and pocket containment because quarterback Malik Zaire can scramble for big yards. On special teams, punt coverage and kickoff coverage looked improved at UCLA but any breakdowns with maintaining proper lane assignments could be costly against C.J. Sanders and company.

The Pick

Virginia can win if … it prevents explosive plays. UCLA piled up eight plays of 20+ yards last week, including six of 30+ yards. That’s a bit too reminiscent of 2013 for my taste. That season, the Hoos allowed 69 plays of 20+ yards (100th nationally) and 39 of 30+ yards (tied 115th) en route to one of the worst scoring defenses in the nation at 33.3 points per game (tied 99th). Last week’s effort looked a lot like that and not last season’s disruptive unit. If the big play parade becomes a trend – and Notre Dame is plenty capable of adding to the totals – it’s going to be a tough season.

Virginia can lose if … it struggles on the offensive line again. Against a very bland UCLA approach, the Cavaliers couldn’t create running room last week and didn’t provide enough time for a pass-heavy attack either. Many of the offense’s scoring issues and big play issues can be traced to the foundation. You’re not likely to make a lot of big plays if you can’t execute with basic consistency first. That starts with the O-Line.

And the winner is … Notre Dame. The Irish have more speed, more playmakers, and more balance across the board on both sides of the ball. Even if some rain materializes, which seems likely, to slow down some of the disadvantages, you can’t predict an upset in this one. Irish 38, Hoos 20. 2015 record to date: 1-0.