Box Score WISE, Va.-- The Notre Dame Falcons came away with their fifth consecutive road victory on Saturday afternoon, using a strong defensive effort to defeat Virginia-Wise, 41-10 at Carl Smith Stadium.
Notre Dame (4-1, 4-1 MEC) has not lost on the road since Oct. 19th, 2013, and their 4-1 start is the best in the history of the program, while Virginia-Wise (0-5, 0-4) has now lost five in a row to start their season.
After a scoreless first quarter, Notre Dame jumped on the board just nine seconds into the second quarter.
Mitchell Shegos caught a five-yard touchdown pass from
Ray Russ to cap a 14-play, 91-yard drive to give Notre Dame a 7-0 lead.
Notre Dame's special teams unit was a big factor all afternoon long, and they partially blocked a punt, which gave NDC great field position on their next drive, starting at the Cavs' 19-yard line. Three plays later,
Kenneth Butler found pay-dirt on a two-yard touchdown run to give NDC a 13-0 lead with 13:07 to play.
Virginia-Wise wouldn't go away, as they brought the deficit down to six (13-7) on a punishing 10-yard touchdown rush from Von Purvis with 8:32 to play.
The Notre Dame special teams unit came through again to setup the next two Falcon touchdowns. A low snap on a punt attempt for the Cavs resulted in a fumble, which
BJ Baldwin scooped up and returned five yards for a touchdown to give Notre Dame a 20-7 lead with 4:08 to play in the first half.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Cavaliers fumbled again, and Notre Dame recovered it at the 34-yard line. Six plays later, the Falcons found the end zone again, this time Russ found Baldwin on a three-yard touchdown pass to give Notre Dame a 27-7 advantage.
The Falcons limited the Cavaliers' effectiveness on third downs in the first half, holding them to just an 11.1-percent (1-for-9) conversion rate. Three of NDC's top tacklers in the first half were defensive lineman, as they negated the Cavs running game, holding them to 22 rushing yards on as many attempts.
Notre Dame relied heavily on their rushing attack in the second half to kill the clock and continued to move the ball down the field. They negated any chance for the Cavaliers to get back into the game, as they opened the second half with a nine-play, 70-yard scoring drive, which concluded with Russ finding
DaJunn Graham on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Falcons a 34-10 lead.
The Cavaliers kicked a 25-yard field goal with 7:11 to play in the third, but would not score the rest of the way. Notre Dame put their final points on the board at the end of another long drive inside the five-minute mark in the third quarter. Russ tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the day, hooking up with
Colton Wallace on a nine-yard touchdown pass at the end of an eight-play, 83-yard drive to give the Falcons their final score of the contest.
Notre Dame's defense held the Cavaliers to 173 yards of offense on the day, and just 36 yards on 33 carries. NDC's top three tacklers on the day were defensive lineman.
Jalon Avent paced the Falcons defensively with 10 total tackles, including four for a loss, and two sacks.
Derrick Bavol had eight tackles, two for a loss and a sack. Sha'Haun Williams had four tackles for a loss and a sack as well.
Notre Dame's offense had a big day as well, tallying 497 yards. They had a pretty balanced attack, rushing for 214 yards, and passing for 283.
Kenneth Butler toted the ball 26 times for 122 yards and a touchdown, marking his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. Russ completed 21-of-36 passes for four touchdowns, a season high, and threw for 280 yards. Shegos was Russ's top target, as he hauled in seven passes for 110 yards and a score.
The Falcons are in action again next Saturday, Oct. 11, when they play host to Lake Erie at Mueller Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
