Notre Dame Football: Irish face third top 25 team in Virginia Tech

After taking down No. 7 Stanford at home, Notre Dame football will hit the road to take on No. 24 Virginia Tech, the last top 25 team remaining on their schedule.

Quarterback Ian Book took a big step in proving that the Irish’s 56-27 win over Wake Forest wasn’t a fluke, downing longtime rival Stanford in a dominate 38-17 effort. Notre Dame will now make their second road appearance of the season, traveling down to Blacksburg, VA to take on their second of five scheduled ACC opponents.

There wasn’t much to complain about in the Irish’s most recent win. The offense was efficient, the defense was sound, and we’ve seen an improvement in special teams since the Week 1 fiasco against Michigan. Such a dominant performance sometimes sets up for a trap game, but head coach Brian Kelly’s team has to know what’s at stake against the Hokies.

Notre Dame’s schedule favors a playoff bid, but they’ll have to get past a competitive Virginia Tech squad before even thinking about making a run. Here are three bold predictions for the Irish as they travel back to the east coast.