Virginia is 5-4 and they come into Notre Dame Stadium this week on a bit of a high. Last week they scored a road win against the 18th ranked (CFP) Pitt Panthers, 24-19. Against other ranked opponents this season, they have fallen at Clemson 48-31 and lost to ND common opponent Louisville, 24-20.
The Cavaliers are headed up by Tony Elliot who is in his third season after a successful run as an offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Clemson. 3-9 a year ago, preseason the Cavaliers were picked near the bottom of the ACC. The book on them was that they were capable of pretty good offense, but would struggle defensively. That has been mostly true.
Sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea can pass and run the ball. He averages 30 passes per game and is completing 63.2% of them good for 1,948 yards, 12 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also has scored twice on the ground where he has gained 259 yards on 104 carries. He has been sacked 31 times, one of the worst marks in the nation.
6-4, 220 Malachi Fields is Calandrea’s top receiver and has caught 45 passes for 665 yards and four TDs. Also catching passes is a name familiar to Notre Dame fans, Chris Tyree, who moved over to the Cavaliers from ND for his last year of eligibility. Tyree has 22 catches for 124 yards. Tyree has yet to score. Virginia’s passing game is ranked 39th at 254.4 yards per game.
Running the football has been a little more of a challenge. Besides Colandrea, Kobe Pace (442 yds, 3 TD, 4.4ypc.) gets more carries but Xavier Brown (436 yds,1TD, 6.4 ypc) looks to have a little more burst. Over all the Cavalier running game is ranked 86th at 143.8 yards per game.
Virginia averages 26.0 points per game, 86th nationally.
On the defensive side of the ball Virginia has struggled. They held PItt to just 19 points but caught a break when the Pittsburgh quarterback was injured and lost for the rest of the game in the 3rd quarter. In the two games prior to Pitt, they gave up 48 to Clemson and 44 to a so-so North Carolina team. Safety Jonas Sanker who made some key plays against Pittsburgh, is the leading tackler on a defense giving up 398.8 yards per game (98th) and 26.7 points per game (83rd). Virginia has totaled just 15 sacks on the year and only forced 12 turnovers (7 int, 4 F).
Since Tony Elliot took over in 2022, Virginia is 11-20. Nine of those losses have been by one score or less, so the Cavaliers have been competitive. This season they have the look of an improved team over last year but not by much. Calendrea has been prone to throwing interceptions and that is not a good thing going against the Irish. Defensively they lack playmakers up front and that should benefit the Irish run game and give Riley Leonard time to pass. Throw in the fact that it is Senior day in South Bend and the Irish are driving to the playoffs. ND matches up well in this one.
Notre Dame is a 23 point favorite and the over/under is 50.5
The Fighting Irish Preview Pick: Notre Dame 35 Virginia 10