BLACKSBURG – A significant moment in Virginia Tech's football history occurs this evening when the Hokies and Notre Dame kick off. The game marks the storied Irish's first visit to Lane Stadium.
The atmosphere will be electric, one complete with everything you'd expect for a big game.
Of more importance, though, will be what transpires on the field. The Irish come in with an unblemished 5-0 record and a No. 6 national ranking. They're coming off a double-digit win over a good Stanford team in which they held the Cardinal to 31 total yards in the second half.
The Irish may not be quite as talented as Clemson when the Tigers rolled into Lane Stadium last year and won – but they're quite close. So Virginia Tech needs to play a near-perfect game to win.
Here are some things to watch, as the Hokies and Irish get set to battle:
Getting off to a fast start – Several articles pointed out this week that Virginia Tech hasn't beaten a ranked team at Lane Stadium since 2009, going 0-6 in that span. While true, three of those games occurred against teams ranked in the top 10, and quite honestly, few teams hold winning marks against top-10 foes.
The common theme in all six of those losses is that Tech trailed after the first quarter in all six and trailed at halftime in five of the six. As most college football fans know, giving great opponents an early lead often leads to losses – and this year's Hokies aren't built to rally from deficits.
That said, historically under head coach Justin Fuente, they do know how to play with a lead. Tech is 19-3 under Fuente when scoring first, so the Hokies really need to jump out to an advantage early against the Irish to give themselves a chance.
Play in the secondary – Notre Dame certainly has found its quarterback in Ian Book, who threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns in the Irish's win over Stanford last Saturday. In his two starts, he is completing 73.1 percent of his passes for 603 yards and six touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also threw completions to 10 different receivers – for the second straight game – so he knows how to spread the ball around.
Tech's secondary played much better against Duke last Saturday than it did against ODU the previous week, registering a season-high eight pass break-ups. Bryce Watts led the way with three. The Hokies also held Duke to just three plays of 20 yards or more after giving up 11 against ODU.
Needless to say, they need to come up with a similar performance Saturday night against a hot quarterback.
Holding up against the run – When people think about Notre Dame and head coach Brian Kelly, they think about an up-tempo offense that throws the ball all over the place. Well, the Irish throw it well, but this season, they're also running it – to the tune of 201.4 yards per game.
In fact, Notre Dame has rushed for at least 240 yards in three consecutive games, including a 272-yard evening against Stanford. In contrast, Tech is allowing just 84 yards rushing per game and just 2.6 yards per carry.
Defensive coordinator Bud Foster appears to be at his best when his defenses shut down the opponent's running game. That allows him to mix in blitzes and different coverages, which makes things even more difficult for an offense.
The Hokies have been strong up front on defense this season. Hopefully, that continues.
Willis in prime time – Though Notre Dame gave up 259 yards rushing to Wake Forest and 169 yard rushing to Ball State, the Irish held Stanford and Michigan to 55 and 58 yards rushing, respectively.
Last week, the Hokies rushed for just 81 yards against Duke. So quite honestly, this doesn't have the feel of a game in which Tech runs it up and down the field.
That means the Hokies need to get another big game from quarterback Ryan Willis, who threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns in Durham in his starting debut as a Hokie. Lewis possesses the arm and some big receivers to make things happen in the passing game, but he needs to be careful – Notre Dame has intercepted at least one pass in all five of its games this season.
The Hokies also need to protect Willis, who was sacked just once at Duke. Notre Dame brought the heat against Stanford, sacking Cardinal quarterbacks five times.
Crowd noise – Lane Stadium has a reputation of being a difficult place to play, especially at night, and the crowd figures to be quite loud given that this will be Notre Dame's first appearance at Lane Stadium.
Most coaches and players downplay the impact of crowds on games, saying that the effect goes away after the first series – and there is some truth to that.
Yet consider this: a year ago, Notre Dame went to Miami and played in front of a rather boisterous audience. The Irish handled it poorly and ended up falling 41-8.
Tech fans hope they can have that same type of effect.
The madness will be building up all day. But the important part of the evening kicks off at 8:20. It should be memorable – and Hokie Nation hopes it will be epic.