Tag: VT

Notre Dame stagnant in latest USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

The Irish are steady in the same spot as last week but plenty of movement around them

What a night that was, with Irish quarterback Jack Coan going from the goat to the hero in a matter of a few quarters and Notre Dame retained their ranking from last week in the updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

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It wasn’t easy for the Irish last night, they had to battle all 40-minutes but it was worth it. Kicker Jonathan Doerer was clutch once again, nailing the game-winning field goal with under a minute remaining in the contest.

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Around the country there were some big time upsets, No. 1 Alabama lost to unranked Texas, A&M, No. 10 BYU did the same falling at home to Boise State. The Red River Rivalry was another fantastic game, that saw Spencer Rattle getting replaced and true freshman Caleb Williams engineering a comeback victory for the Sooners over Texas.

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In the top-5 matchup of Big Ten teams, No. 3 Iowa came back at home to defeat No. 4 Penn State. Even though some of the teams inside the top-10 lost, they didn’t drop enough for Notre Dame to really make a move north in the polls. There was however a new No. 1 team.

Here is the latest Coaches Poll, with last week’s ranking in parenthesis.

1 – Georgia (2)

2 – Iowa (3)

3 – Oklahoma (5)

4 – Cincinnati (6)

5 – Alabama (1)

6 – Ohio State (7)

7 – Michigan (8)

8 – Penn State (4)

9 – Michigan State (11)

10 – Oregon (9)

11 – Kentucky (14)

12 – Oklahoma State (12)

13 – Notre Dame (13)

14 – Ole Miss (17)

15 – Coastal Carolina (15)

16 – Wake Forest (20)

17 – Florida (18)

18 – Texas A&M (NR)

19 – Arkansas (16)

20 – BYU (10)

21 –  NC State (22)

22 – Arizona State (25)

23 –  SMU (24)

24 – San Diego State (NR)

25 – Clemson (21)

5 Stars: The best and worst of Notre Dame’s comeback win over Virginia Tech

If you didn’t think this game was a dog fight waiting to happen, you haven’t see enough of both Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The two teams are similar, both hit hard and make plays on defense to keep them in games while having average offenses. The …

If you didn’t think this game was a dog fight waiting to happen, you haven’t see enough of both Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The two teams are similar, both hit hard and make plays on defense to keep them in games while having average offenses. The two teams slugged it out over four quarters but the Irish prevailed with a quality and exciting, 32-29 road victory. Here are the best, 5 stars, and worst, 1 star, performances from the Irish this week.

 

Watch: Jonathan Doerer’s kick sends Notre Dame to victory over Virginia Tech

So clutch by everyone in the fourth quarter

It didn’t look promising. Tyler Buchner, who came in to replace starting quarterback Jack Coan, went down with an injury after throwing his second interception. Virginia Tech would then score a few plays later and take a 29-21 lead with 3:55 left in the game.

The momentum was clearly in the Hokies favor but that wouldn’t be for long. Coan came back into the game on fire, going 7-for-9 and 93-yard with this touchdown.

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There was an encore to his heroics, not just tying the game but leading the Irish into field goal range with under two-minutes left in the game. Kicker Jonathan Doerer came in, and after a lengthy pause where Brian Kelly asked the referee’s to get a laser pointer out of the stands, come on and gave the Irish an impressive comeback victory, 32-29.

Watch: Notre Dame QB Coan returns and finds Davis for score vs. VT

It’s getting close in Blacksburg

Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan started this game against Virginia Tech and for much of the second half, it didn’t seem like he would have a chance to finish it. True freshman Tyler Buchner took over mid-way through the second quarter and wasn’t  great but died enough for Brian Kelly to stay with him.

Buchner would later injure his knee on a non-contact reaction after he threw his second interception of the game. Coan started the next drive and in 7-plays then went 75-yards and scored on this pass to Avery Davis to give the Irish life, still trailing the Hokies 27-29 before the extra point.

Watch: Kevin Austin makes a wild catch to tie game for Notre Dame vs VT

WOW

The Irish just scored a touchdown and with under 3-minutes left in the game, Brian Kelly’s squad trailing by 2-points, there was no option. They had to go for the tie on the road and potentially send the game to over time.

It wasn’t a pretty play, as Jack Coan, who entered at the beginning of the series for an injured Tyler Buchner, rolled to his right to but time after his first options weren’t open. He was flushed further to the sideline and had to just throw the ball up and hope on of his receiver could come down with it. Superman, er, Kevin Austin was that guy as he made this catch out of know where and helped the Irish tie the game at 29.

Watch: Notre Dame retakes the lead on Williams touchdown run vs VT

Two scores for Williams

The Irish needed some momentum after giving up the lead out of halftime against the host Hokies. Well, Virginia Tech obliged as Braxton Burmeister faced a third-and-long. The Irish played it perfectly and TaRiq Bracy picked off the pass.

That gave the Notre Dame offense a short field and they made the Hokies pay. The Irish only needed to go 29-yards on four-play in just under 2-minutes to retake the lead over VT. It happened as running back Kyren Williams found the endzone for the second time today, first on the ground. His 10-yard scamper gave the Irish the lead once again, 21-16 in the 3rd quarter.

Watch: Notre Dame takes lead as Buchner finds Williams against Virginia Tech

The Irish take the lead!

Who know which back-up quarterback will be the spark each week. The last few weeks, it’s been Drew Pyne. That might have been because Tyler Buchner was a bit dinged up.

What we saw in the first reps early this season saw the true freshman running all over the place, mixing in a solid pass. Well, the Buchner that we saw before his soft tissue injury is back. He looks like he belongs, even though he’s didn’t play his senior year due to COVID-19.

He again engineered a drive that gave Notre Dame the lead, 14-10, in the hostile road environment of Virginia Tech got a bit quieter as the Irish scored.  Buchner to Williams isn’t just a hand-off play.

Watch: Notre Dame answers as Buchner’s long pass leads to his rush TD vs VT

The Irish strike back

Once again, Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan struggled against an above average defense. This time Virginia Tech has made his life uneasy and he was sacked in two of the three series he started.

On the fourth series, in came true freshman Tyler Buchner who has been nursing a soft tissue leg injury. He came in and did what Coan couldn’t, engineered an Irish scoring drive as they marched down the field 75-yards in 7 plays. The biggest play was when Buchner found wide receiver Kevin Austin for a 46-yard gain and putting the Irish inside the Hokie 4-yard line.

Two plays later Buchner ran it in from 3-yards away as the Irish got close to the hosts, 10-7, as the Irish trail midway through the second quarter.

Know your foe, Virginia Tech: Five Hokies who could give Notre Dame problems

These Hokies will make some noise

Although the Hokies dropped out of the rankings after week 3’s action, they’re still a formidable opponent for the Irish. They will trot out a very impressive defense, a home field advantage and nothing to loose. This could equate to some trouble for the Irish, as Virginia Tech won’t be a push over Saturday night. Here are five Hokies that could the Irish problems when they hit the field.