South Bend, Ind. – The Virginia Cavaliers arrived in South Bend hoping to spoil Notre Dame’s Homecoming celebrations, but despite their best efforts, they couldn’t overcome a series of costly mistakes.
The game started with a bang, as Virginia’s Chris Tyree mishandled the opening kickoff, allowing Notre Dame’s Kam Robinson to recover the ball on the Cavalier 25-yard line. The Irish offense wasted no time capitalizing, quickly marching 25 yards in just four plays. The drive ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Notre Dame sophomore Jeremiyah Love, his tenth touchdown of the season, giving the Irish an early 7-0 lead.
The two teams struggled to find rhythm offensively for the remainder of the first quarter, with each squad managing only two first downs. Despite Virginia outgaining Notre Dame 74 yards to 54, the Cavaliers found themselves trailing by a touchdown as the quarter came to a close.
The second quarter saw more action. First, a fumbled punt by Notre Dame’s Max Hurleman gave Virginia a prime opportunity, recovering the ball at the Irish 42-yard line. But the Cavalier offense couldn’t capitalize on the field position. On the very next play, Notre Dame’s Jordan Clark forced a fumble that was recovered by the Irish at their own 12-yard line.
Taking advantage of Virginia’s inability to convert, Notre Dame quickly extended their lead. The Irish orchestrated an 88-yard drive, ending with a Riley Leonard 8-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Harrison. That put Notre Dame ahead 14-0.
The action then took an unexpected turn. After a three-and-out by the Cavaliers, Riley Leonard connected with Jayden Harrison for what appeared to be a 78-yard touchdown. However, a personal foul penalty on Notre Dame’s Pat Coogan wiped out the score, pushing the ball back to the Notre Dame 11-yard line.
Two plays later, Notre Dame tried to catch Virginia off guard with a fake punt, but a penalty for illegal formation nullified the 73-yard touchdown run by Jordan Faison, and the Irish were forced to punt the ball back to Virginia.
The Cavaliers were unable to take advantage of the Notre Dame miscues. On their next possession, Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea was intercepted by Notre Dame’s Adon Shular, who returned the pick 46 yards to the Cavalier 2-yard line. From there, Riley
Leonard connected with Cooper Flanagan for an easy 2-yard touchdown, pushing the Notre Dame lead to 21-0. Things only got worse for the Cavaliers.
With just 1:35 left in the half, Virginia’s Colandrea was picked off again, this time by Leonard Moore, who returned the ball to the Cavalier 31-yard line. Leonard wasted no time, hitting Mitchell Evans for his third touchdown pass of the game, putting Notre Dame up 28-0 heading into halftime.
The second half saw more of the same for the outmatched Cavaliers. Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame scored on a 76-yard touchdown to push the lead to 35-0.
The Cavaliers responded with a scoring drive of 75-yards in just five plays with backup quarterback Toney Muskett scoring on an 18-yard touchdown run. They would also add a late score with eighteen seconds remaining in the game to close out the scoring at 31-14.
Notre Dame displayed a balanced offensive attack, piling up 236 rushing yards and 214 passing yards in the win. Quarterback Riley Leonard played a pivotal role in the victory, completing 22 of 33 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to his passing yards, Leonard added 32 yards on the ground.
On the ground, running back Jeremiyah Love had a standout performance, rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Next up for the Irish will be a road contest against an undefeated Army squad, at Yankee Stadium.
Virginia will attempt to rebound when SMU travels to Charlottesville.
