By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – In the game following the Virginia Tech football team's first bye week of the season back in September, the Hokies played poorly in a home loss to Duke.
In fact, punter Oscar Bradburn gave a rather eloquent summation of that game at a Tech news conference Tuesday morning.
"We really got our pants pulled down," he said.
The Hokies are hoping recent history doesn't repeat itself Saturday when they take on No. 16 Notre Dame in a nonconference game in South Bend, Indiana. Both squads enter with identical 5-2 marks, with the Hokies coming off their second bye of the season and the Irish coming in on the heels of an ugly 45-14 loss at Michigan this past Saturday.
Of course, the current Tech squad doesn't resembled the turnover- and mistake-plagued bunch that competed during the first month of this season. Tech coach Justin Fuente and his staff have righted the ship, with much of the change being attributed to a change in the quarterback position – something that appears to have reinvigorated this team.
2019 VIRGINIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS
(The Virginia Tech Athletics Department has individual football game tickets on sale. Fans interested in purchasing a ticket to any of the Hokies' final two home games may do so by clicking here.)
Now the starter, Hendon Hooker has thrown seven touchdown passes and no interceptions in three starts – leading to three consecutive victories. Tech's defense has allowed at least 35 points in three of the past four games, but the Hokies expect to get injured defensive tackle Dashawn Crawford and cornerback Caleb Farley back Saturday and hope everyone feels comfortable after resuming their normal roles, as the Tech heads into the final month of the regular season.
"I say we're more confident, but you've got to understand just because you win three games doesn't mean anything," linebacker Dax Hollifield said. "You can't change. The reason we've won these past three games is because of how we practiced and how we went about our business every day. When you start feeling good about yourself is about the time you get knocked down.
"So we can't start feeling good about ourselves even though we've won three in a row. We've got to treat the next one like, get one in. I don't know how to explain it. You can't let the past define your future. That's how I look at it."
The Hokies do need to guard against getting caught up in the mystique of Notre Dame – its traditions, its reputations, and playing at Notre Dame Stadium with "Touchdown Jesus" mural in the background. Notre Dame's 11 national championships also add to that mystique.
Tech did this somewhat effectively in 2016, rallying from a 17-0 deficit to beat the Irish 34-31. The Hokies scored the final 13 points of that game – all in the fourth quarter.
There are not many correlations from that game to the one Saturday. This Notre Dame team is much better than the 2016 squad that finished 4-8. The Hokies look much different, too, as only two players on the current roster played in that game – cornerback Jovonn Quillen and safety Divine Deablo. And even then, Deablo was actually a wide receiver.
"They've got their own TV station [NBC]. They're kind of like the godfather of college football," defensive end TyJuan Garbutt said. "Their program has been around for a long time. I think we're excited as a team to get this opportunity not only because it's Notre Dame, but because we had a week to start feeling better and get some good-on-good work. It's just the next game."
Even though only two Tech players played in that 2016 game, a few others took official visits to South Bend during the recruiting process, including Hollifield and Hooker, so they at least know what to expect. They know the weather will be cold – temperatures at game time are expected to be in the 30s with a 15 miles-per-hour wind – and the crowd to be a sellout.
"It was kind of interesting learning how they do things there and how big they are on tradition," Hooker said. "But it was really cold. It was kind of like, 'Oh yeah, that's cool. Can we go back inside?'"
"It's pretty cool," Hollifield agreed. "Nothing like Lane Stadium, but it's pretty cool. That's one of the most historic football programs, if not the most historic football program in the country. It's pretty cool. But it's just another team to us. We've got to go out there and play. I'm excited. It's going to be on TV. Everyone is going to watch it, but I've just got to go out there and focus on my job. That's what I'm looking forward to."
Tech's players said the focus really hasn't been on anything outside of the lines this week. They spent the better part of the off week focusing on getting better – and extending their winning streak.
"We're really excited about this," defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt said. "We know all about Notre Dame's tradition and how great it is to go there, but we're playing the 2019 team, and we're just excited to go up there and compete."
Here are some other notes from Tuesday:
HOOKER FEELING BETTER
Hooker echoed Fuente's Monday statements when he said Tuesday that he felt better after missing the entire second half and six overtimes in the Hokies' epic win over North Carolina. Hooker injured his knee on a play late in the first half and spent much of last week in rehab. But he returned to practice Sunday and felt fine.
"I feel pretty good," he said. "I got out there this week. Practice on Sunday felt good. Felt good today. So I'm ready to go."
HOLLIFIELD BLOODIED AGAINST UNC
Hollifield took a shot in the nose in Tech's victory over the Tar Heels, cutting the bridge of his nose, which sent blood streaming down his face. The eccentric young man refused to let trainers clean the blood off his face because he wanted photographers to get plenty of photos of his bloody face, and sure enough, many of those photos made the rounds on social media last week.
"I was like, 'Cool. There will be some cool pictures after this,'" Hollifield said. "Then the trainers were trying to take it all off, and I'm like, 'No, no, don't. Get away from me. I'm just trying to get some pics right now.' Everyone knows that picture of J.J. Watt [of the Houston Texans] with that blood coming out. That was the first thing I thought about."
TURNER CHANGES HIS PATTERN
Before the last off week in late September, Tré Turner told media members that he planned on sleeping until noon and playing video games all weekend. But the sophomore receiver mixed it up this time around, wanting to keep his focus sharp after the team's three consecutive wins and heading into the stretch run of the season.
"I didn't do the same thing I did that last bye week because I'm just focused on staying healthy and getting my body going," Turner said. "So I woke up pretty early. The whole weekend, I was up by 10 o'clock every day, so it wasn't like I was sleeping in and playing video games. I haven't touched a video game this week. There's a whole different focus now."
