Key Takeaways From Notre Dame's Victory Over Virginia Tech

Winning college football games is not easy, and beating quality teams should never be taken for granted. That’s why Notre Dame fans should be pleased with the team’s 21-20 come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech.

The Irish team showed heart, especially on defense, and the win keeps Notre Dame on track for a possible New Year’s Six bowl game.

Notre Dame came into the game a 17.5-point favorite, and in many ways the Irish thoroughly dominated Virginia Tech, but the reasons the game was just a one-point victory, and the reasons Notre Dame needed to come-from-behind to win, should raise concerns for any objective observer.

Here are the five biggest takeaways from the Notre Dame victory:

1. Clark Lea Is An Outstanding Coach — Notre Dame had an absolutely abysmal performance against Michigan, and that followed a brutal second half performance against USC. To make matters worse, Notre Dame was set to take on a Virginia Tech offense that averaged 39.7 points per game in the three previous contests.

One mark of a great coach is when your unit is struggling to be able to push all the right buttons and get your group back on track, which is exactly what Notre Dame did against Virginia Tech.

Clark Lea’s defense was the driving force behind last season’s 12-1 campaign, and it was playing excellent football for much of the 2019 season, at least until the second half of the USC game. It bottomed out against Michigan, but the Irish coordinator was able to quickly get his group back on track.

Notre Dame held the Hokie offense to a season-low 240 yards of offense and 3.8 yards per play. In fact, it was Virginia Tech’s fewest yards in a game since 2015 and its fewest yards per play since 2016.

Lea’s game plan had the Virginia Tech offense off-balance all game long. The Irish game-planned to shut down the run game, but also had a plan to contain Virginia Tech’s talented wide receivers. He then had to get the player’s to buy into that game plan and then carry it out at a high level a week after the program’s most humiliating loss in his time running the defense.

2. Defense Showed Tremendous Character — Lea was the architect of yesterday’s sterling defensive performance, but it doesn’t mean much if the player’s don’t go out and execute. Notre Dame’s veteran defenders stepped up against Virginia Tech, and the Irish defense played well on all three levels.

A week after an abysmal performance, the Irish front seven controlled the action against Virginia Tech. The pass rush wasn’t dominant, but the front four ate up run lanes and the linebackers attacked the line of scrimmage aggressively. On the back end, the Irish cornerbacks played at a very high level and the safeties played good football.

None of this should be a surprise considering the talent level of the Irish defense, but bouncing back after such a brutal six quarter stretch in which the defense gave up 69 points is not easy. Doing so against a talented Virginia Tech offense showed a great deal of character from the Irish defenders.

3. Chase Claypool Saved The Irish Season — In an otherwise average to poor performance from the Irish offense, wide receiver Chase Claypool shined bright in the victory. Claypool was open all game long, and his play was even better than even his eight catches and 118 yards showed.

Claypool got by the Hokie defense for what should have been a 33-yard touchdown, but the ball was under thrown. Claypool also got open on two other post routes, but poor throws kept him from making more big plays. The senior stepped up huge in the second half, hauling in five passes for 72 yards.

On the final drive of the fourth quarter, Claypool hauled in a beautiful sideline grab for 13 yards, and he beat the Hokie defense deep over the middle to convert a 4th-and-10, which set up the game-winning touchdown.

Claypool has been outstanding all season, and with better quarterback play his numbers would be truly outstanding. Against Virginia Tech, the offense needed him to put the game on his shoulders, and he did just that.

4. Irish Offense Has Serious Problems — Yes, winning the game was great. The final drive was gritty and clutch, but the reality is the game never should have come to that point. With the Irish defense completely dominating the Virginia Tech offense, the Notre Dame offense allowed the game to even be close.

Notre Dame had 13 possessions in the game. Six of this drives were three-and-outs, two more ended by an interception and another ended with a goal line fumble that Virginia Tech ran back for a 98-yard touchdown to tie the game.

A performance like that looks even worse when you consider the quality of the defense Notre Dame faced in the game. Virginia Tech came into the matchup giving up 29.6 points per game, which ranked 86th in the nation. All four of Virginia Tech’s four previous Power 5 opponents had scored at least 31 points in regulation, and the Hokies were giving up 477 yards of offense and 6.1 yards per play.

Notre Dame gained 447 yards, but it only averaged 4.91 yards per play and scored 21 points. Those 21 points were the fewest Virginia Tech allowed in its last ten games against Power 5 opponents.

Virginia Tech forced just eight turnovers in its first seven games of the season, and five came in one game against Miami. That makes Notre Dame’s three turnovers in the game look even worse. All three happened with Notre Dame driving, which simply cannot happen.

Notre Dame was having trouble consistently moving the ball against Power 5 teams prior to the Virginia game, but at least the Irish could protect the football. Against Virginia Tech, Notre Dame not only struggled to move the ball effectively, but it added turnovers into the equation.

If Notre Dame can’t figure things out in a hurry, the odds of finishing the season 10-2 will greatly diminish.

5. I Love Ian Book’s Character, But QB Play Still Isn’t Good Enough — It is hard not to feel good for quarterback Ian Book after his game-winning touchdown drive. The noise calling for him to be benched was quite loud, and I wrote earlier in the week that his play was simply not good enough …. and I stand by that.

That is what can make this job difficult. It requires an analyst to give honest observations, and sometimes that can be quite harsh. When it is said about a young man that from all accounts is a hard worker, shows great character and is respected by his teammates it - which Book is - it’s certainly not fun or enjoyable.

But the facts are what they are, and Book’s play over his last nine games isn’t anywhere close to good enough to have such a strangle hold on the starting quarterback position at Notre Dame that he has. The numbers are obvious, and the Virginia Tech game added to that.

Yes, he showed grit on the final drive, but the reality is his play during the first 3 1/2 quarters was the primary factor in Notre Dame needing to come back in the first place. Book threw a red zone interception in the first quarter and a goal line pick in the third quarter. A roughing the passer penalty against Virginia Tech overturned a third interception.

Book missed far too many open receivers, including two end zone shots to tight end Cole Kmet. If he gets the ball over top on the second interception it’s a touchdown for Claypool. If he doesn’t miss badly on a drag throw to Braden Lenzy, the sophomore wideout has a huge play, and if he can make one defender miss in space he could score.

All of these things could be overlooked if they weren’t season-long issues for Book.

Some might want to focus on his 341 passing yards - against a defense that had given up 367.7 passing yards per game in the three previous games - but his 6.4 yards per attempt is a sub-standard number and is in line with what he has done against Power 5 teams all season. It was also the fewest yards per attempt by any Power 5 opponent against the Hokies this season. In fact, during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, only one opponent (Miami in 2018) has averaged fewer yards per attempt than did the Irish.

If Book and the offense play the same way against Duke, Navy and Boston College the Irish will once again struggle to win.

The fact Book is the best option at quarterback - which is what the Irish staff continues to profess publicly and privately - is an indictment about the staff’s ability to develop quarterbacks.

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