Notre Dame Opponent Recap: Week Four
Notre Dame was off this weekend after its contest at Wake Forest was postponed to December 12. Most of Notre Dame's 2020 opponents were still in action.
It was another rough weekend for Notre Dame's opponents, who went 3-4 and were out-scored 211-154.
Here's the rundown:
DUKE BLUE DEVILS (0-3) at VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (1-0)
Result: Duke lost 38-20 on the road
Turnovers once again doomed the Blue Devils, who gave the ball to Virginia an incredibly seven times. It made for a lopsided score in a game that was relatively close in yards (UVA 382, Duke 342).
Quarterback Chase Brice threw four interceptions in the loss, giving him six on the season.
FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (0-2) at MIAMI HURRICANES (3-0)
Result: FSU lost 52-10 on the road to rival Miami
Mike Norvell's tenure as the head coach at Florida State couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. Offseason turmoil was followed by an embarrassing season opening home loss to Georgia Tech. Norvell tested positive for COVID-19 this week and could not be on the sideline in this blowout loss to rival Miami.
Miami jumped all over the Seminoles, taking a 38-3 lead into halftime. The Hurricanes out-gained Florida State 517-330 and racked up 33 touchdowns against a Seminole defense that was supposed to be pretty good. Miami racked up 317 passing yards and 200 rushing yards.
FSU also committed 12 penalties and turned the ball over three times.
PITT PANTHERS (3-0) VS. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (1-2)
Result: Pitt beat Louisville 23-20
This game was not really as close as the score showed. Pitt outplayed the Cardinals for much of the game, but the Panthers settled for far too many field goals. Louisville's first score came on a 75-yard run and it's final touchdown covered just 21 after a Pitt fumble.
Pitt out-gained Louisville 376-223 and had twice as many first downs (20) than did the Cardinals. The Pitt defensive line absolutely dominated Louisville's blockers, and holding Louisville's explosive offense to just 223 yards is incredibly impressive.
I didn't think Pitt would be able to beat Louisville in a low scoring game, but they did just that. Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham was carted off the field after throwing an interception as the game was coming to an end.
Pitt should see a nice jump in the rankings after the win over Louisville, who came into the game ranked 24th.
SYRACUSE ORANGE (1-2) vs. GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (1-2)
Result: Syracuse beat Georgia Tech by a 37-20 score
Georgia Tech's season-opening win over Florida State has lost much of its luster. The Yellow Jackets have now suffered back-to-back beat downs, and Florida State looked awful in its loss to Miami.
Syracuse got on the board early, jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Georgia Tech scored twice in the second quarter to make it 23-13 at the half, and the Jackets scored a touchdown late in the third quarter to make it a 23-20 game.
Syracuse responded with a 2-play, 67-yard touchdown drive and never looked back.
Georgia Tech out-gained Syracuse 453 to 357 and had 23 first downs to Syracuse's 14. The difference was Georgia Tech's five turnovers to just one for the Orange.
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (2-0) vs. TEXAS STATE BOBCATS (1-2)
Result: Boston College won 24-21 at home.
Boston College needed a comeback win to beat Texas State. It was a great sign that they came back and won, but a bad sign that they fell behind by two touchdowns (21-7) in the second half.
Quarterback Phil Jurkovec struggled in the first half, completing 10-15 passes for just 55 yards as the Eagles fell behind 21-7. Jurkovec caught fire in the second half, completing 16-27 passes for 155 yards.
On the final two drives of the game, Jurkovec went 14-16 for 89 yards on the final two drives, which ended with the game-tying touchdown and the game winning field goal with just :03 left in the game. Jurkovec had all three Boston College touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 passing).
OTHERS: Clemson and North Carolina both had a bye. South Florida canceled its game due to Notre Dame's COVID-19 issues.
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