The Fighting Irish are coming off a tough battle against Virginia Tech where they squeaked by with 21-20 win at home. Notre Dame was trailing for most of the second half, until 29 seconds left, where Ian Book ran for a seven-yard touchdown to take the lead and win the game. Even though it went down to the final seconds for Notre Dame to win, they almost doubled the Hokies yards, 447 to 236 yards. This was a good sign for the Fighting Irish offense after coming off a tough loss against Michigan to basically ruin their playoff chances.