Notre Dame made a clear commitment, especially early, to run blitzing. The biggest miss was Cornelsen continued to call a heavy dose of wide zone. When the Irish were poised to gain control prior to Jermaine Waller's interception, I thought the story of the game was Notre Dame simplifying their scheme to adjust to their personnel while maligned coordinator Brad Cornelsen failed to stick with adjustments that worked for Tech. This felt like a fulcrum moment for Justin Fuente's regime, and the little hiker that is Virginia Tech football fell off the precipice on Saturday. The Hokies' liabilities in coverage at the linebacker and safety spots are becoming more apparent as teams who feast on linebackers in coverage (Pitt and Syracuse) loom on the schedule. Meanwhile, the Hokies didn't have a viable quarterback option when Burmeister injured his shoulder, received next to nothing in the passing game from their tight ends and receivers not named Turner, and out of ten scholarship running backs only Raheem Blackshear generated any production. Notre Dame's third string running backs and tight ends contributed with their stars dinged up. The roster mismanagement issues of the past few years played a role too. The Hokies don't look like a program turning a corner. Notre Dame was the more physical team in the trenches on both sides of the ball, while Tech's quarterback play wasn't good enough to exploit their speed advantage. The fact is, Virginia Tech had a vulnerable Notre Dame on the ropes, but couldn't execute well enough to win the game.
Unfortunately, what ifs are the soup that mediocre football programs have to slurp on. Burmeister hits Tre Turner on a beautiful hitch-and-go? those same officials flag right tackle Josh Lugg for tackling Tyjuan Garbutt on Notre Dame's ridiculous two-point conversion to tie the game? the officiating crew swallows its whistle when Brock Hoffman and Kaden Moore meander about three yards downfield and Tayvion Robinson scores?
Justin Fuente puts aside his "pride and pissed-offedness" and kicks the extra point after a brutal false start penalty forced a long two-point conversion attempt? Braxton Burmeister gives Turner a chance to touch the ball on an errant fade pass on the ensuing 3rd-and-goal?
the Hokies don't rush to the line of scrimmage after Tre Turner appears to score in the second quarter and replay rules a touchdown? Two consecutive Fighting Irish scoring drives turned the spotlight on all the missed opportunities throughout the game. Yet, that wasn't enough for the Hokies to close the book on a second home win over a ranked opponent this season. Despite a beat up quarterback, a limited running game, and an exhausted defense, with less than four minutes to play against Notre Dame, Virginia Tech found itself ahead by eight points.
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