3 Things from the Notre Dame 45-23 Domination of Virginia Tech

LOL @ Enter Sandman

Now that the game is over and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish won handily on Saturday night over the Virginia Tech Hokies, Enter Sandman has become a song that I get giddy about hearing. It’s so funny to me now. The Irish shut out the noise and the WAYYYY over-hyping of that atmosphere in Blacksburg. To put it simply, the Irish took care of business during a nighttime, ranked road game. Here are a few of my thoughts from the game as we’re a couple days out from the game.

3 Things from the ND-VT Game

Consistency is the name of the game.

On Saturday, Ian Book and the now explosive offense kicked off the opening drive by going down the field and getting a quick score on a great drive. Then, the offense sputtered. Especially in the second quarter, I thought Chip Long went away from the gameplan that works. The deep passes were close, but not yet there for Book. The quick slants and the running game proves to be the success, as we saw in the second half, were not utilized. I understand taking chances and trying not to seem predictable, but the inconsistency of the playcalling I believe was part of the reason for the offense stalling. The second half saw success on what they do best, and they blew the score open. Consistency is a key to success.

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The defense, as a whole, is probably better than the 2012 defense.

Yes, that defense was amazing, and had guys like Te’o, Lewis-Moore, Nix, and Tuitt. This is not a statistical comparison (maybe that could be an article for the Bye Week), but as an eye test. The defensive line with Khalid Kareem and Jerry Tillery, Drue Tranquill, Daelin Hayes, and Julian Okwara in the middle, and Julian Love at the corner show very strong success at all positions on the defense. It is probabaly the most complete unit that I have seen in a long time. For once, I think we can normally rely on the defense to keep us in games and also to keep large leads. They are a menace, and they find themselves getting pressure on everyone. It’s almost stifiling, and I’m such a huge fan. I especially love all the pressure we get on opposing QBs. If defense does win championships, they set us up to get to that level.

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It’s very good that we have gotten noticed nationally...we should.

I am absolutely still cautious as there is still half the season left. I will not fully buy into a playoffs run until the end of the season, but the hype train has started its initial boarding process. I do believe the whole team (players and coaches) have the demeanor and skill to take us to the playoff. I unfortunately always am scared of the bottom falling out (that’s 24 years of being a Notre Dame fan for you), but this team eases those nerves. They love to play, and they want to go in and impose their will against teams. The team doesn’t seem phased from things as much as they might have in the past. I don’t want to guarantee a playoff appearance, but I love being in that conversation and not just because of record. The way the team plays and the schedule has shown that they can continue to prove they are for real. Still have the season left, but I like the trajectory.

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