Television: ABC
Play-by-Play — Chris Fowler
Analyst — Kirk Herbstreit
Sideline – Maria Taylor
Local Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports
Play-by-Play — Jon Laaser
Analyst — Mike Burnop
Sideline — Andrew Allegretta
Flagship — 105.3 FM
GAME SPONSOR
NOTRE DAME MAKES DEBUT IN BLACKSBURG
• Virginia Tech (No. 24 AP/No. 23 USA Today Coaches) returns home to face AP No. 6/Coaches No. 7 Notre Dame (10/6) following a 31-14 win at Duke (9/29). The Irish are coming off a 38-17 home win vs. Stanford (9/29).
• Notre Dame has played in iconic college, NFL and MLB venues across the nation and has even competed in Ireland, but Saturday's contest will mark the initial trek by the Fighting Irish to Blacksburg, Virginia.
• Virginia Tech overcame a pair of 17-point deficits on a cold and blustery day to register a dramatic 34-31 victory in its initial meeting with the Irish at Notre Dame (11/19/16).
• ND is 15-3 dating back to the start of the 2017 campaign with those three losses all coming at the hands of foes ranked in the AP Top 25 (Georgia, Miami and Stanford).
• Tech owns four victories against ranked opponents under head coach Justin Fuente, but is seeking its first win against a Top 25 foe at Lane Stadium since Frank Beamer led the Hokies to a 31-7 win vs. No. 9 Miami (9/26/09).
• The Hokies are also seeking to knock off AP Top 25 teams in consecutive games for the first time since getting a 16-15 win at No. 19 Nebraska (9/19/09) and that victory vs. No. 9 Miami (9/26/09).
• Notre Dame is 8-12 in its last 20 true road contests, including a 1-8 mark against AP Top 25 foes. That lone win was a 24-20 victory at No. 21 Temple (10/31/15).
• Virginia Tech is 5-0 at Lane vs. non-conference foes under Fuente, outscoring those foes by a 217-47 margin.
INSIDE THE SERIES: VIRGINIA TECH-NOTRE DAME
• Saturday's contest will only be the second game played in the all-time series between Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
• The Hokies took the first meeting in South Bend, 34-31, in a game where they twice faced a 17-point deficit.
•11 players on Tech's current roster played in the 2016 game including WR C.J. Carroll, OL Yosuah Nijman (who both started on offense), DL Ricky Walker and DL Vinny Mihota (who started on the defensive side of the ball.
•Notre Dame will be the 70th different opponent to play in Lane Stadium.
•Virginia Tech is 51-16-2 against teams playing in their first game at Lane Stadium since the building's first season in 1965.
•Of the last 10 Lane Stadium rookies, No. 8 Ohio State was the only one to have won in their Blacksburg debut.
CONNECTIONS: VIRGINIA TECH-NOTRE DAME
• As the big whistle at Cincinnati, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly led the Bearcats to its first BCS bowl game, which came against Virginia Tech in the 2009 Orange Bowl.
• The Hokies, led Tyrod Taylor and Kam Chancellor went on to beat Kelly and Bearcats, 20-7, to cap a 10-4 season that also included the ACC championship.
• Current Tech QB Ryan Willis was recruited to the University of Kansas by former Notre Dame QB Ron Powlus, who served as the Jayhawks' quarterbacks coach under head coach Charlie Weis, who previously served as Notre Dame's head coach.
