Under Brian Kelly, the Notre Dame football program has struggled in primetime games against ranked opponents, especially on the road. Games at Clemson in 2015, at Texas in 2016, and at Miami and 2017 are just a few examples of Notre Dame teams coming up short when the lights come on away from Notre Dame Stadium.
While wins against Michigan and Stanford seem to show that this year’s Irish team is built to compete with the nation’s best teams, Saturday’s matchup with Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium will certainly be a measure of how far the program has come after a 4-8 season just two years ago.