Notre Dame Football: 3 takeaways from clutch win over Virginia Tech

Notre Dame football nearly dropped their second straight in a tense thriller against Virginia Tech. What did we learn from the late survival by the Irish?

A week after falling big against Michigan in Ann Arbor, Notre Dame returned home to South Bend and continued to look listless in their showdown against Virginia Tech. It was supposed to be a solid rebound opportunity for the Fighting Irish. Instead, the Hokies had different ideas in mind as they nearly improved to 6-2. But Notre Dame killed the dream in the final minute of a 21-20 Irish victory in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus.

Notre Dame was pushed to the limit on their home turf, as Virginia Tech traded punches throughout the first half and then clamped down defensively in the second half. The inability to put points on the scoreboard proved costly, as Virginia Tech started to raise some major questions about the direction of Notre Dame’s season in November.

Virginia Tech had hoped to enter their name into the discussion for the upcoming release of the new College Football Playoff selection committee rankings. Notre Dame, on the other hand, knows that they will make the committee’s top 25 list this week.

With three losses on their record, it is time to reassess goals for the Fighting Irish in 2019 as they head down the homestretch into the postseason that is not yet guaranteed. Here are three things we learned on Saturday in South Bend.