Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
No. 8 Notre Dame continues its College Football Playoff chase on Saturday in South Bend, Ind., against a Virginia team that is 3-1 on the road and held a lead in every game this season.
The Fighting Irish (8-1) have a seven-game winning streak since their two-point loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7 and won all four previous meetings with the Cavaliers (5-4).
Notre Dame improved to 4-0 this season against Virginia’s fellow Atlantic Coast Conference members with a 52-3 rout of Florida State last weekend, having also defeated once-ranked Louisville, Georgia Tech and Stanford.
Riley Leonard passed for 215 yards and a touchdown and ran for 70 yards and two scores against the Seminoles. The balanced Fighting Irish offense had more than 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards for the third time in the last four games. The defense collected eight sacks and two additional tackles for loss and finished the blowout with a 79-yard pick-six by Luke Talich.
Leonard posted similar numbers the last time he faced Virginia. Playing for Duke in 2022, he threw one touchdown pass and rushed for two scores in a 38-17 defeat of the Cavaliers.
Virginia snapped a three-game skid last weekend with a 24-19 victory at then-No. 18 Pittsburgh. Xavier Brown had a 1-yard touchdown run and a 24-yard touchdown catch and former Notre Dame wideout Chris Tyree had his best game as a Cavalier with four catches for 42 yards and one run for 13 yards.
“I’m excited to go back,” said Tyree, a graduate transfer who gained 3,284 all-purpose yards with 17 touchdowns in 49 games with the Fighting Irish from 2020-23.
Tyree’s fourth-quarter catch of 25 yards on third-and-15 allowed Virginia to extend a drive that consumed 8:26 and led to a field goal for the final margin.
“I think this is a really good start for us to finish these last four games,” Tyree said. “So it’s just up to us to go 1-0 every week, take it day by day.”
The Cavaliers haven’t played in a bowl game since the 2019 season. They need one more win to gain eligibility with remaining games against Notre Dame, No. 14 SMU and rival Virginia Tech.
“Coach (Tony) Elliott has done a great job. He has his team really playing at a high level, playing with confidence, competitive,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said.
“… They had a huge win last week versus Pitt, and they’re a talented bunch and they’re playing that way with confidence and physicality. So, we’re expecting their best and expecting a great challenge Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium for our Senior Day.”
Freeman said Fighting Irish defensive lineman Howard Cross, who ranks second on the team with four sacks, will not play due to an ankle injury.
The Notre Dame community mourned the loss this week of former head coach Gerry Faust, who died Monday at 89. Faust compiled a 30-26-1 record from 1981-85 before being replaced by Lou Holtz.
–Field Level Media