Notre Dame Football: 5 players who earned Blitz Stickers vs. Virginia Tech

While many hate to admit it, Notre Dame football is back to being national title contenders at this point in the season.

The Irish rallied from an early deficit to take care of Virginia Tech this past weekend in the prime-time game of the night, improving to 6-0 on the season with the meat of their schedule now in the past.

Dexter Williams, who returned two weeks ago, made another impact, as Notre Dame outscored the Hokies 28-7 from late in the second through early in the fourth.

Brian Kelly’s group has now scored consecutive wins over Stanford and Virginia Tech, with zero ranked teams remaining on the schedule. Will that hurt the Irish in their hopes of advancing to the College Football Playoff? Only time will tell.

For now, though, here are five players who earned Blitz Stickers in Notre Dame’s 45-23 victory over Virginia Tech in Week 6.

5. Dexter Williams, Running Back

It hasn’t been a career to remember for Dexter Williams at Notre Dame, but the senior running back might be changing that this year.

After sitting out the first four games of the season due to a suspension, Williams has been on fire since, running for 161 yards vs. Stanford and 178 this past Saturday night in a win over Virginia Tech on the road.

Last year, Williams was a spark in the backfield, averaging over nine yards per carry. He had just 360 yards total, but did score four touchdowns on his 39 attempts.

Through two games this season, Williams has 38 carries and 339 yards, almost surpassing his numbers from a year ago. He broke free vs. the Hokies for a 97-yard score that made it 24-16 early in the third quarter.

With six games remaining on the year, including dates with Pittsburgh, Navy, Florida State and Syracuse, if Williams can maintain his hold on the starting running back job, he should break the 1,000-yard mark with ease.