Players Of The Game: Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech

Notre Dame improved to 6-2 thanks to a come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech. It wasn’t always pretty - at least on offense and special teams - but the Irish got the job done.

Let’s take a look at the top performers from the victory:

OFFENSE

WR Chase Claypool - 8 catches, 118 yards, 14.8 YPC

The senior wide receiver as outstanding in the win over Virginia Tech. His fourth quarter performance alone could have won him top player honors.

Claypool got things started for Notre Dame, hauling in a 31-yard gain on a wheel route in the first quarter. But he was mostly quiet until the fourth quarter, catching four passes for 53 yards in the first three quarters.

Early in the final quarter, Claypool turned a 3rd-and-7 hitch route into a 20-yard gain after breaking a number of tackles and carrying Hokie defenders. He converted a 4th-and-5 with a tough catch in traffic, and on Notre Dame’s game-winning drive Claypool had a brilliant sideline grab for 13 yards and his final catch was a 26-yard gain on a 4th-and-10.

When Notre Dame needed a play to be made it was Claypool that often got the job done, this despite being the focus of the Virginia Tech defense for much of the game.

Runners Up: LT Liam Eichenberg, WR Javon McKinley

DEFENSE

DE Khalid Kareem - 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack

Picking just one defensive player of the game wasn’t easy, but I’m going with the senior end. Kareem was the one Irish defensive end that got multiple strong edge rushes, which included him making the only sack in the game for the Irish. In fact, Kareem’s sack ended the Virginia Tech drive that gave the Irish the ball back late in the fourth quarter, and the offense turned that possession into the game-winning touchdown.

Where Kareem truly shined was in the run game. He was powerful at the point of attack, set the edge effectively and was able to get off blocks and make plays on the football. His first big run play came in the first quarter when Kareem folded inside and then read the quarterback run. Kareem closed on the QB and made the 3rd-and-4 tackle short of the first-down marker.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Kareem blew up the edge and forced the quarterback inside, ending the Hokie series. Kareem played with a lot of fire, played with power and his all-around game was impactful. His strength on the edge was a key reason why the Irish defense was so effective in the run game.

Runners Up: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB Asmar Bilal, CB Donte Vaughn, S Kyle Hamilton

SPECIAL TEAMS

PR Chris Finke - 4 returns, 24 yards

When you win by a point, you can look back and find a number of plays that proved impactful. Finke had a 16-yard punt return in the first quarter that set up Notre Dame’s first touchdown drive of the game. He did a good job coming up and fielding punts in the game.

Runners Up: Punter/Holder Jay Bramblett

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/IrishMaven/