Friday, September 11, 2015

Week 2 Preview: Notre Dame at Virginia

Notre Dame's season continues tomorrow afternoon when the 9th ranked Fighting Irish (1-0) travel to Charlottesville to take on the Virginia Cavaliers (0-1). The Irish are coming off of a dominant victory over Texas, while the Cavaliers return home following a tough loss to a very good UCLA program. What will transpire this Saturday?

1. Start off fast. The Irish did this last week by jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and they would like to do that again. Virginia probably doesn't have the talent to hang with the Irish for four quarters, but a sluggish start could get the crowd going and fuel some momentum for the home team.

2. More work for the freshman. With starting running back Tarean Folston lost for the season, the Irish will need other players to step up and fill the void. Last week, C.J. Prosise showed that he is capable of being the lead back, but he can't be asked to do it all throughout the season. True freshmen Josh Adams and Dexter Williams showed great upside in their debuts, but their workloads need to increase starting tomorrow.

3. Get the tight ends involved. Durham Smythe hauled in the unit's lone catch for six yards last week, but the potential is there for much more. True freshman Alize Jones dropped his first target early on, and that was about it for the Irish tight ends. As deep and talented as the receivers are, Notre Dame needs to establish a passing game to the tight ends as the season progresses. This Saturday should present another opportunity for them to get involved as Brian Kelly might dial up some shorter, underneath routes for quarterback Malik Zaire's first road start.

The Irish appear to match up well with the Cavaliers, and they should control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Prediction: Notre Dame 34, Virginia 13

-Eric Tichelbaut
@etichel07

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