After coming out a bit flat at home versus #18 Virginia in the first half, #10 Notre Dame made some solid halftime adjustments and rode their defensive line to victory. The ND defense got into the Cavaliers’ offensive backfield early and often registering eight sacks, 13 tackles for a loss, four QB hurries, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
While UVA QB Bryce Perkins was 18-22 for 235 yards passing (2 TDs, no INTs) in the first half, Fighting Irish Defensive Coordinator Clark Lea found some answers at intermission, and by the early fourth quarter the game result was no longer in doubt.
Perkins was held to less than a 100 yards passing and had no touchdowns in the second half. ND also picked him off twice in the second half.
There were heroes aplenty for the Irish in their 35-20 victory, starting first and foremost with the defensive line. Junior DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa registered the momentum shifting play of the game, picking up a fumble and running it back 48 yards early in the third quarter. It set up a Tony Jones TD run that put the Irish up by four.
The next touchdown was actually scored by a defensive lineman, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, who accomplished a 23-yard scoop and score which gave the Irish a comfortable 28-17 lead. Jones added another touchdown (he had three on the day) and finished with 131 yards rushing on 18 carries.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/1178065885489254400
It was also a huge day for Julian Okawara, a player who came into the season with high expectations, but had been largely quiet up until today. He got his first three sacks of the season, to go along with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Notre Dame’s other starting DE, of which much was expected this preseason, Khalid Kareem, chipped in 2.5 sacks.
“It was exciting to see all of your brothers produce,” said Kareem after the game. “We just kept coming, didn’t back down, we’re the d line- we know every thing starts with us.”
On Myron’s fumble recovery and long run that fell just short of the end zone: “a little upset he didn’t score, but still happy for him.”
The eight sacks were the most in a single game since 2008, and one shy of the school record. The seven fumble recoveries are the most they have had at this point in the season since 2004.
Most importantly, the Irish defensive front led the way in ND’s domination of the line of scrimmage. Notre Dame out-rushed UVA 178-4 on the afternoon. 55% of Virginia’s rushing attempts went for 0 or negative yards, which is the 2nd-highest percentage for a ND opponent in the last 15 years.
Is this is what ND coach Brian Kelly envisioned at Media Day, when he said the season would be defined by establishing the run and stopping the opponent run.
“I’m not standing up here and telling you we have found ourselves offensively, we have not,” said Kelly.
“We’re far from where we want to be. We have got a lot of things to sort out and figure out offensively, personnel, but what we did is we gave Tony Jones a break. So he ran hard in the second half and in particular the third and fourth quarter.”
“When we got C’Bo in there and we got Jamir in there, it gave him a chance to run the way he can run. And he’s a hard runner.”
“On the other hand, from a rushing standpoint, we want to continue to be a team that doesn’t give up big plays in the running game.”
“Four yards rushing, you know, a lot of that is the negative in, obviously, the sacks. But at the end of the day finding a balance within our offense is something that is still a work in progress, but defensively continue to go in the route we’re going with the development of our front seven and finding a really solid front seven that doesn’t give up big runs.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.