SOUTH BEND, INDIANA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Cavalier Football program came into a matchup with No. 8 Notre Dame needing one win to achieve bowl eligibility and although they were 21.5 point underdogs, inside the locker room they believed it could be done.  However, on the games first play, Notre Dame graduate transfer Chris Tyree fumbled the opening kickoff, and then UVA linebacker Kam Robinson committed a roughing the passer penalty on the Irish’s offensive possession following the turn over, and the Irish took an early 7-0 lead.  That was just the tip of the iceberg of mistakes for the Wahoos, as they would go on to commit five first half turn overs, including 3 interceptions from sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea, and Notre Dame eliminated the competitive phase of the game scoring 28 points off of turnovers and at one point led the game 35 to nothing.  The turnovers overshadowed a decent showing from UVA’s defense, holding Notre Dame to 1 of 12 on third down, and below their recent scoring average.  In the second half, Head Coach Tony Elliott gave senior quarterback Tony Muskett a chance to lead the offense and he produced two touchdown scoring drives against Notre Dame’s second team defense.  However, it still raised a number of questions about who would be the starting quarterback moving forward, because Muskett has continued to play well in relief appearances this year.  Coach Elliott addressed the quarterback situation and the overall game in our postgame interview on the WINA Virginia Sports Radio Network:

Up next, Virginia will face SMU at home on Senior Day Saturday at Noon.  Coverage on WINA will begin at 10am.