Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons why Irish will beat Virginia Tech

3. The Notre Dame defense will make life difficult for Willis

As mentioned before, Virginia Tech will be rolling out backup quarterback Ryan Willis in the wake of Jackson’s ankle injury. With no timetable set for Jackson’s return, the Hokies have committed to Willis as their quarterback. As for the Irish, defensive coordinator Clark Lea will be doing all he can to fluster Willis early in the game.

With an improved secondary and a dominant defensive front, getting to Willis early and often is a strong possibility. The Irish have always had bits and pieces of talent along the defensive line, but this unit appears to be coming together quicker than most in recent memory.

Much of the defense’s success to this point can be linked to the constant edge pressure delivered by the Irish’s revamped group of defensive ends. After starting Jay and Daelin Hayes exclusively in 2017, the former has moved on to Georgia while the latter has moved into a timeshare with Julian Okwara. Junior Khalid Kareem has taken over in the place of Jay Hayes.

With an extra rotational piece along the line, the trio of Hayes, Okwara, and Kareem have combined to lead the nation in edge pressures this season. With Notre Dame veterans Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bonner working inside, it could be a very long day for Willis playing in front of his home crowd.