Series History Between Notre Dame and Virginia
Notre Dame travels to Charlottesville for an intriguing matchup against Virginia on Saturday under the lights. Virginia presents a much different challenge than Navy, as QB Brennan Armstrong leads the nation in total offense. The Fighting Irish will need to be up for the challenge from the first snap, because if history is any indication, the Cavaliers will play Notre Dame tough.
Saturday will be only the fourth meeting between the Fighting Irish and Cavaliers, with Notre Dame having won the three previous matchups.
RESULTS
2019 – Notre Dame 35, Virginia 20 (Home)
2015 – Notre Dame 34, Virginia 27 (Away)
1989 – Notre Dame 36, Virginia 13 (Neutral)
NOTABLE GAMES
2019 – Notre Dame welcomed Virginia to South Bend fresh off a disappointing 23-17 loss at Georgia the week before. Virginia was led by QB Bryce Perkins and was ranked 18th in the country. Notre Dame played a sluggish first half that saw Perkins carve up the Irish secondary and spur the Cavaliers to the 17-14 halftime lead. Perkins would finish the first half 18-22 passing for 235 yards and 2 TDs.
Virginia continued its aggressive play by executing a successful onside kick to start the second half, but then the Irish defense stiffened. Notre Dame outscored Virginia 21-3 in the second half to pull away with a 35-20 victory. The Irish defensive had a field day against the overmatched Cavalier offensive line, racking up 8 sacks, 13 TFLs, 5 turnovers (3 fumbles), and a touchdown on a fumble recovery by Adetokunbo Ogundeji (and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa returned another fumble to the Virginia 7-yard line). In contrast to his outstanding first half, Perkins finished 12-21 for 99 yards and 2 interceptions in the second half. The Cavaliers also finished with only 4 yards rushing.
The outstanding defensive performance masked a poor showing by the Notre Dame offense. Despite ND’s defensive dominance, the Fighting Irish were still outgained 338-322 and threw for only 165 yards. RB Tony Jones Jr. was the lone offensive bright spot, putting up 131 yards and 3 TDs.
Notre Dame finished the 2019 season 11-2 with a win over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl. Virginia would finish 9-5, with a promising season soured by losses to Clemson in the ACC Championship and Florida in the Orange Bowl.
2015 - Notre Dame made its only previous visit to Scott Stadium the week after a dominant 38-3 win over Texas to open the 2015 season. The game saw multiple shifts in momentum, as the Irish jumped out to an early lead and led 12-0 at the end of the first quarter, but Virginia rallied to take a 14-12 lead into halftime. Notre Dame responded in the third quarter with two touchdowns to take a 26-14 advantage heading into the fourth, but on the final Irish drive of the third quarter, QB Malik Zaire fractured his ankle (shelving him for the season).
With Notre Dame shellshocked, Virginia rallied for two touchdowns to take a 27-26 lead with 1:54 left. Notre Dame would not be denied, though, as backup QB DeShone Kizer found his stride on the game-winning drive. Kizer drove the Irish 80 yards, culminating in a 39-yard strike to Will Fuller for the winning touchdown with 12 seconds remaining.
Notre Dame would go on to finish 10-3, with losses to Clemson, Stanford, and then Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Taking the Irish down to the wire would prove to be the highlight of Virginia’s season, as they would finish 4-8, resulting in head coach Mike London’s firing.
1989 – Notre Dame and Virginia met in Week 1 of the 1989 season at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ. The Irish were playing their first game since capturing the 1988 national championship, and entered the game ranked #1 in the country. Virginia was a talented team, led by QB Shawn Moore and WR Herman Moore, who would both finish in the top six of Heisman Trophy voting the following year before going onto professional careers.
However, the Cavaliers were no match for the Irish that day. Led by returning stars Tony Rice, Ricky Watters, Raghib Ismail, and Todd Lyght, Notre Dame scored on the first five drives and raced out to a 33-0 halftime lead, outgaining the Cavaliers 333-60 in the process. Virginia would not even reach Notre Dame territory until the second half, and by then it was too late. Notre Dame cruised to a 36-13 victory behind Watters’ 122 total yards, Anthony Johnson’s 2 rushing TDs, and Ismail’s 121 receiving yards.
Notre Dame would maintain that #1 ranking until falling in the season finale at Miami, before regrouping with an Orange Bowl victory over then-#1 Colorado to finish with the #2 ranking. Virginia tied for the ACC title and finished 10-3, losing in the Citrus Bowl to Illinois.
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