Notre Dame’s Defense Still A Mystery To Virginia Tech

Determining what Notre Dame looks like defensively isn’t an easy task for Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente.

In the six games since Greg Hudson replaced Brian VanGorder as defensive coordinator, the Irish have played Syracuse, North Carolina State, Stanford, Miami, Navy and Army.

Of those games, Miami most closely resembles what the Hokies do offensively. Syracuse runs a high-tempo, Baylor-like scheme. Notre Dame’s game against North Carolina State was played in a hurricane with poor field conditions, making the passing game useless. Stanford is a pro-style, power offense, while Navy and Army run the triple option.

“We are still in the process right now of discerning the noticeable differences because you don’t have quite as much film as you think you do when you realize it has been six weeks,” Fuente said during his weekly Monday press conference. “We are still working on all that.”

Fuente’s spread offense features a dual-threat quarterback in Jerod Evans and weapons on the outside in receivers Isaiah Ford, Cam Phillips and Bucky Hodges.

Notre Dame will counter with a defense still working out its issues. The Irish rotate a handful of true freshman defensive backs and are looking for a consistent pass rush.

Fuente, in his first year with the Hokies, noted that one area on the Notre Dame defense stands out.

“Just from reading Coach [Brian] Kelly’s comments and watching some film, the kids are playing hard,” Fuente said. “Not that they weren’t playing hard before. Just reading between the lines a little bit, there seems to be some passion out there.

“Schematically, they’ve tweaked some things, but they are not going to wholesale change what they are doing defensively during the middle of the year.”

Fuente, a former offensive coordinator at TCU under Gary Patterson, said he’s never played Notre Dame in his career. Though like most coaches who face Notre Dame, he has respect for the tradition of the program.

“All those things are ingrained in the history of college football,” Fuente said of Notre Dame’s tradition. “Part of that is really neat. The neat part of them being involved in our league is the home and away [games] with the prestigious program.”

The Hokies are in the thick of the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division race. Saturday’s game against the Irish won’t affect that — Tech needs a win in its regular-season finale against Virginia to clinch the division.

Fuente is using the trip to Notre Dame as an opportunity to improve late in the season.

“It certainly is a dynamic. I don’t know how odd it is. We have to go and improve,” Fuente said. “This is an ongoing process, and it is not always a straight extension. This is a great opportunity.

“This game comes at a great time for us to go on the road and play a very talented team in what I’m sure will be a hostile environment. We have to continue to grow as a team and try to improve. It is odd, but for us, it’s about our growth and our process to go and take advantage of this opportunity.”

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