Notre Dame Football: 3 teams the Irish will blow out in 2021

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Sep 28, 2019; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson (55) readies for the snap in the third quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

It was a tale of two seasons for Virginia in 2020. The Cavaliers started out 1-4, losing to Clemson, NC State, and Wake Forest by double digits. They ended up going 4-1 in the final five games, taking down the likes of North Carolina, Louisville, and Boston College. Bronco Mendenhall has to feel good about the way things ended up after a horrid start.

And bringing back Brennan Armstrong is a good sign that things are going to get better in Charlottesville, but he still had a turnover problem in 2020.

Notre Dame’s defense is going to cause problems in this one.

Virginia also had one of the worst defenses in college football last year, finishing dead-last in the ACC in passing yards allowed and 96th nationally in total yards allowed per game. The Cavaliers were decent against the run, but Kyren Williams is going to have a field day here against a unit that returns seven starters — half of its front-seven.

Whoever starts at quarterback for Notre Dame should also have himself a day against this porous secondary which couldn’t stop anyone last season.

The only thing that could make this somewhat close is the fact that it’s played in Charlottesville. Otherwise, this game should be over early.

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