Notre Dame once again has an opportunity to put together its first winning streak of the season, but it will have to knock off its best opponent to date if that is going to happen.

Virginia Tech lost to Georgia Tech last weekend, but the 7-3 Hokies remain talented and dangerous. In order to come out on top, the Irish offense will have to be at its best. Execution will have to be top notch, and the Irish offensive players will have to win their individual battles for Notre Dame to pull off the victory.

Here are the matchups between the Irish offense and the Hokie defense that could have the biggest impact on the outcome of the game:

Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster is one of the nation’s best, and games like this are often when he is at his finest. The Hokies will attack the Irish front in an attempt to shut down the run game and get after quarterback DeShone Kizer.

Notre Dame’s players will have to execute and be on their game, but the lead dogs on the Irish staff — Mike Denbrock and Mike Sanford — have to not only have a great plan in place, they have to go toe-to-toe with Foster in the coaching chess match. Foster will run a lot of different fronts and look to bait Kizer into checks his defense wants. For example, Virginia Tech will go five in the box in order to force a run check, and then crash the box with its outside linebackers and safeties once the ball is handed off.

Any defense as aggressive and multiple as the Hokie defense is vulnerable, and the Irish staff will have to find ways to exploit its weak spots. The staff will need a plan to keep Virginia Tech off balance, which hopefully causes the Hokies to back off from its pressures and gives the offense room to run.

Virginia Tech nose tackle Woody Baron could be the most disruptive interior player Notre Dame has faced all season. Baron lacks the size or raw talent of Michigan State nose tackle Malik McDowell, but the Virginia Tech standout has been a far more dominant and productive player.

Virginia Tech ranks sixth nationally in tackles for loss per game (8.2), and Baron has been the ringleader. He is tops on the defense with 16 stops behind the line. Baron has really taken off during the second half of the season. After putting up just three tackles for loss in the first five games, Baron has registered an impressive 13 stops behind the line of scrimmage in the last five games.

Notre Dame’s interior blockers cannot allow Baron to control this matchup the way they allowed McDowell to dominate that game. If the Irish are forced to go to the air because they cannot run the football, Virginia Tech will swarm Kizer all game long. Notre Dame must be able to sustain a level of balance, and that will not happen if junior center Sam Mustipher and the two right guards (seniors Mark Harrell and Colin McGovern) are unable to keep Baron engaged.

The interior players have to keep Baron at the line of scrimmage and prevent him from consistently getting into the backfield, which throws off the timing of the run game. Staying on blocks against Baron is also important.

Notre Dame likes to throw the football, regardless of the opponent or the weather conditions. If Notre Dame was willing to throw 26 times during a hurricane, potential snow or wind this weekend will not thwart the staff’s intentions.

With that in mind, it is imperative that the Irish wideouts be on top of their game. Notre Dame’s staff has worked hard to get freshman Kevin Stepherson the football in recent games, and that will continue against Virginia Tech. Stepherson has the speed and quickness to present Virginia Tech’s talented secondary with some issues.

A key for Notre Dame is making sure that sophomore Equanimeous St. Brown gets back to being a focal point of the offensive game plan. Stepherson is a legit big-play weapon, but St. Brown does a lot of the things that move the chains and keep drives going. Notre Dame’s staff must find a way to get St. Brown going and to get Stepherson open down the field.

Virginia Tech corners Greg Stroman and Brandon Facyson are long and talented. Facyson is 6-2, 197 and Stroman is 6-0, 180. Notre Dame’s wideouts will have to run sharp routes and aggressively attack the ball if they are going to win enough battles against the Hokie corners to win the game.

This matchup will also be important to the run game.

In Virginia Tech’s seven wins, its defense racked up 20 sacks. In its three losses, the Hokies had just four quarterback takedowns. If Notre Dame can protect Kizer and keep him clean in the pocket, the Irish will be able to move the ball against Virginia Tech.

The Irish coaching staff will have a role in this by coming up with a game plan that slows down the pass rush. Kizer will have to be smart with his checks and get rid of the ball on time.

Winning the battle on the edge will also be important. In Virginia Tech’s base defense, the key matchup is Notre Dame left tackle Mike McGlinchey against Virginia Tech right end Ken Ekanem, who is tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks and paces the squad with eight QB hurries.

In passing downs, Virginia Tech will also unleash outside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who is an exceptional athlete that is tied with Ekanem for the team lead in sacks.

Notre Dame’s tackles also have to handle this matchup in the run game if it wants to be able to get the rushing attack going off tackle and outside.

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