Rapid Review: Notre Dame 21, Virginia Tech 20
No. 16 ranked Notre Dame (now 6-2) rallied to a dramatic 21-20 victory versus Virginia Tech (5-3) when senior quarterback Ian Book raced for a seven-yard touchdown off the zone read with 29 seconds remaining, followed by the extra point by junior kicker Jonathan Doerer.
The touchdown ended an 87-yard drive that took 18 plays in 2:53 and converted two fourth downs.
The first was fourth-and-3 from the Irish 20 with a five-yard pass from Book to junior running back Jafar Armstrong.
The second came on fourth-and-10 from the Virginia Tech 33-yard line when Book patiently waited for senior receiver Chase Claypool to cross for a 26-yard completion to the seven. Book tallied the game winner on third-and-goal with a deft move to the outside when it looked like the inside might be sealed off. The Irish also were out of timeouts at that point.
Freshman safety Kyle Hamilton picked off a desperation pass from deep in Virginia Tech territory to seal the victory with two seconds remaining.
1. TOP 3 STORYLINES
• In a week replete with many questions about Book and the overall offense, the unit displayed immense intestinal fortitude on the game-winning drive. Book finished 29 of 53 for 341 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, with Claypool snaring eight of the passes for 118 yards.
The two touchdown passes were to tight ends Cole Kmet (eight yards) and Tommy Tremble (four yards) in the first half.
• Leading 14-7 and facing third-and-goal at the one-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining until halftime, a hand-off to Armstrong into the middle was stoned by middle linebacker Rayshard Ashby, with his helmet dislodging the football into the air that safety Divine Deablo grabbed in the air and, after stiff-arming Book, raced easily for a 98-yard touchdown.
With the extra point, Virginia Tech knotted the score at 14 at halftime despite getting out-gained 243-85 in total yardage.
• With Notre Dame's offense in a funk most of the second half, or prior to the final drive, the defense kept the Irish close, allowing only two second-half field goals.
The second was especially crucial because after the Hokies completed a 50-yard pass from Quincy Patterson to Tre Turner for a first down at Notre Dame's 12-yard line, two passes into the end zone were well covered by senior cornerbacks Donte Vaughn and Troy Pride Jr., forcing a 25-yard field goal.
Limiting it to 20-14 early in the fourth quarter instead of going up two scores at 24-14 enabled the Irish to tread water before their closing drive.
2. TURNING POINT
Throughout the second half it appeared the potential 14-point swing on Deablo's fumble return would be the difference — until the clutch final drive in which the composed Irish responded with repeated clutch plays.
But again, had the Hokies made it 24-14 instead of 20-14 when they had first down at Notre Dame's 12-yard line early in the fourth quarter, it might have been game, set, match.
3. STAT OF THE GAME
Notre Dame entered the game as the lone FBS team to score every time it reached the red zone — 24 of 24, with 21 touchdowns. But against Virginia Tech it had two turnovers in the red zone, notably a fumble returned for a 98-yard touchdown, and also missed a 35-yard field goal for a third possession without any score.
4. GAME BALL
Book, along with the rest of the maligned offense from last week's Michigan 45-14 loss, displayed their resilience and poise on the closing drive to increase Notre Dame's home winning streak to 16 games.
5. HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE
Notre Dame hasn’t had a 5-0 November since Knute Rockne’s final year in 1930 when it won the national title. Furthermore, after finishing 4-0 in November last year, head coach Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish are attempting to be the first since Frank Leahy’s 1947-49 teams to finish unbeaten and untied in consecutive Novembers (the 1948 unit tied USC in December).
This was the consummate "survive and advance" step to reach that goal.
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_MikeSinger, @CoachDeDario and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.