Notre Dame's path to playoff is even clearer after dominant road win over Virginia Tech

No. 6 Notre Dame passed what may have been its toughest remaining regular season test with flying colors.

The Irish went into a raucous environment in Blacksburg and absolutely trounced No. 24 Virginia Tech, transforming what was just a 17-16 halftime lead and pounding the Hokies in the second half in an eventual 45-23 victory.

Now 6-0, Notre Dame’s path to the College Football Playoff is looking even clearer.

The Irish already had wins over No. 14 Michigan and No. 7 Stanford on its resume but hadn’t encountered a tough road atmosphere — quarterback Ian Book, especially — until Saturday night. Book, in his third start since replacing Brandon Wimbush, had another productive outing, completing 25-of-35 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

And the times Book did scuffle — his first interception of the season came in the second quarter — he was bailed out by the Notre Dame defense. Miscues from Virginia Tech helped, too. So did the rushing attack, notably the big play ability of Dexter Williams.

Virginia Tech had crucial self-inflicted errors in the first half

As lopsided as the final score may look, Virginia Tech played the Irish close in the first half. And if it weren’t for some miscues, the Hokies may have had the lead going into halftime.

After Notre Dame jumped out to a 10-0 lead on its first two offensive possessions, it looked like the Hokies got right back in it by dialing up a trick play. Tech went to a wide receiver reverse pass with Hezekiah Grimsley finding Sean Savoy wide open for a 49-yard touchdown. However, the play was brought back because a lineman was illegally downfield. The Hokies settled for a field goal instead.

Notre Dame, on its next drive, gave the ball back to the Hokies near midfield thanks to a bad snap on a punt. But the Hokies could only get a field goal out of the favorable field position.

Later in the second quarter, Reggie Floyd disguised his coverage perfectly, baiting Book into an interception. Two plays later, a Steven Peoples burst got the Hokies down to the 1-yard line, but that was as far as they’d get. Two more runs from Peoples went nowhere, and the third and goal play sputtered on a miscommunication between QB Ryan Willis and Peoples. That led to another field goal and Notre Dame’s lead shrinking to 10-9.

All the while, Virginia Tech’s defense was getting in Book’s face and making things difficult. An Irish punt put the ball back in Willis’ hands with 2:10 left in the half with the chance to give the Hokies a lead at the break.

Instead, disaster struck. Willis, making his second start after an injury to Josh Jackson, held onto the ball for way too long and was stripped by Khalid Kareem. The loose ball bounced right to Julian Love, who returned it 42 yards for a score, moving the lead to 17-9.

Virginia Tech would cut it 17-16 before halftime, but the second half was dominated by Notre Dame.

Dexter Williams’ touchdown changed the game

Early in the third quarter, Notre Dame was backed up inside its own five. That didn’t matter to Dexter Williams.

In his second game back from a suspension, Williams reeled off an electric 97-yard score.

Williams, fresh off 161 yards in the Stanford win, topped that on Saturday, going for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries.

And after Virginia Tech missed a field goal, a 40-yard scoring connection between Book and Miles Boykin made the score 31-16, completely demoralizing the Hokies and the home crowd.

Another Book-to-Boykin score early in the fourth put things completely out of reach, while Williams’ third score of the game from 31 yards out was the cherry on top of an impressive, all-around victory.