Nothing like a large road test following a big time loss. That’s where Notre Dame finds themselves this week as they head to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech in one of the more hostile college football environments. This Notre Dame team is very different than the one who went into Blacksburg and handed it to Va Tech. That Irish team could lean on the run game to get the win – and as we have seen this year so far, this Irish team cannot. Notre Dame will still be the more talented team on the field Saturday night, but can they do what it takes to head into the bye week with a win?

Last week’s game vs Cincinnati was a tale of two different halves for the Irish offense. They were lifeless in the first half, but once Drew Pyne took over for Jack Coan in the second, the offense finally (though not enough to win) came to life. Even with that said, Brian Kelly still has yet to say publicly who the starting QB will be Saturday night. After Kelly’s first press conference on Monday, I was more optimistic that Pyne would get the start. As the week went on, and after the most recent Kelly press conference this week where he brought up that experience matters more than a mobile QB, all signs point to Coan getting the start. Coan can lead this team to win in a big game on the road – he showed that week one vs FSU, but the following weeks have been a very different story. It comes down to Coan not having enough time find his wideouts. The O-line just isn’t good enough, and that hurts Coan, who is not someone the defense needs to worry about running the ball. I am less optimistic about the Irish getting the win Saturday night if Coan is the starter, unless the O-line steps up to give Coan time and get some type of running game. I am no expert, but right now Pyne gives the Irish the best chance at winning.

Where we all worry about the Notre Dame offense, that’s not the case with the Irish defense. They have grown so much since the first couple of weeks. The Irish defense was giving up big play after big play early this season; that stopped fast after week two. Marcus Freeman has shown that he is worth every penny that Notre Dame has paid him to coach that side of the ball. Lots of the credit has gone to All-American Kyle Hamilton, rightfully so, but this defense is more than one player. From the line to the linebackers, these guys fly around and make play after play. The Virginia Tech offense is not as prolific as the offense they saw a week ago. Look for the Irish defense to set the tone on Saturday night to get the crowd out of it early.

I’m holding out hope that the Irish get some time of run game going tonight vs Va Tech. They have too much talent in that back field for them to go five weeks with out some type of running game. The big names should be the ones leading the Irish to a win are Williams, Austin, Mayer, Hamilton. Those are the guys that Va Tech can’t mach on a talent level. If it is Coan in at QB, I expect the leash to be a short one. They can’t waste an entire half with zero offensive production. I don’t expect a perfect game from ND by any means, but I do expect a win.