IRISH STEW

#NDInsider Twitter Chatter: Notre Dame-Virginia

Tyler James
South Bend Tribune

Twitter can be a fun (or depressing) and brutally honest (or unreasonable) place during Notre Dame football games. That's why we open up this space for the #NDInsider Twitter Chatter following games.

During the game, readers are encouraged to send their thoughts and observations with the #NDInsider hashtag to be considered for our postgame fan recap. They joined us with their 280-character takes during the game.

The game started with a twist as Notre Dame won the toss but elected to defer. Head coach Brian Kelly typically takes the ball when the Irish have the choice.

The move backfired when Virginia went right down the field and scored a touchdown on its first drive. But Notre Dame responded with a long scoring drive of its own capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Tony Jones Jr.

Notre Dame led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter with running back C'Bo Flemister giving the Irish the lead on an 11-yard touchdown run. The drive was set up by defensive end Julian Okwara's strip sack of Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins.

Did I wake up from a dream? The #Irish deferred?!?! #NDInsider#GoIrish#BeatCavalierspic.twitter.com/RUOVtMgeP0

— Chris Buckley (@Toefer15) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/crE5O56reG

— Cocosl (@cdn515) September 28, 2019

@TJamesNDI another hot start by the Irish! #NDInsider

— Chris Dittus (@cadittus48) September 28, 2019

Answer. Punch, counter punch. Nice to see TJ fight for those yards. Help his confidence and the O line in short yardage situations #NDInsider

— Nick Gonzalez (@nickg1421) September 28, 2019

#GoIrish#NDInsider ☘️☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/8yk4nqDkbP

— Nicole Becker (@Crazy4OReilly90) September 28, 2019

Why would ND play a video about some Presidential Team Award on the Jumbo after a HUGE STRIP SACK BY JO?!?! Bet Georgia didn’t play lame videos like that. #NDInsider

— J.J. Gregg (@Mr_Gregg) September 28, 2019

those last 2 plays C'Bo broke all kinds of tackles...I love that he refused to go down quietly #NDInsider#GOIRISH#UVAvsND

— Cocosl (@cdn515) September 28, 2019

The second quarter favored Virginia. Perkins continued to connect with his receivers to move the ball against Notre Dame's defense. A field goal and a touchdown pass to Hasise Dubois in the final minute of the half gave the Cavaliers a 17-14 halftime lead.

Notre Dame fans submitted GIFs to express their reactions.

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/xiVlGnqiY4

— Chris Scheiber (@scheib43) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/ey3OOlWNBU

— Andrew Evans (@Evans__25) September 28, 2019

#ndinsiderpic.twitter.com/owY2Q0pWzo

— Timothy J. DeGeeter (@TimDeGeeter) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/rYnRVfyv0Y

— 4th & Goal (@unlnown64660701) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/HiYYH5o3VK

— brent leonard (@Bert2834) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/rBt7TO8NUN

— Nicole Becker (@Crazy4OReilly90) September 28, 2019

#NdInsider does Chip Long have frequent bouts of amnesia while calling plays and Book holds the Ball like he's reading a book pic.twitter.com/bkHbK9u3Dr

— Michael L Murphy (@smurphdogg29) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/FYELdg5n2W

— Cocosl (@cdn515) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/lvJd1hcLxe

— Curt - Em_525 (@Curt_EM_525) September 28, 2019

#ndinsiderpic.twitter.com/IUVBvJGftG

— Ian - KMBG (@Vappid) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/Q0t0w37eIm

— Connor Walsh (@USAGunnerWalsh) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/NIe5KN1h5Y

— roxana wilson (@rox961) September 28, 2019

I have a bottle of whiskey bet on this game. #NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/RkU1Bi0Fpj

— Andrew Barlow (@barlandrew) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/uipeHPgmrj

— Derrick Koeber (@dkoeber8) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/AbepKXGqeW

— Rob Goodale (@rgoody33) September 28, 2019

#NDInsider Perkins>Book

— Andy Drude (@hadrude) September 28, 2019

#ndinsider can the offensive play calling and/or execution be any more awful #GoIrish

— Shawn Foley (@SJLAFoley) September 28, 2019

Virginia caught the Irish off guard to start the second half with a successful onside kick. Notre Dame's defense prevented the missed possession from becoming too costly. 

But the start of the third quarter included cornerback Shaun Crawford suffering a gruesome elbow injury and the offense continuing to struggle.

#ndinsider great halftime coaching adjustments on first play

— Shawn Foley (@SJLAFoley) September 28, 2019

#NDInsider

— Nick Gonzalez (@nickg1421) September 28, 2019

Feel so bad for Shaun Crawford - two torn ACL and a torn Achilles on top of that awful arm injury #NDInsider

— Matt Lozar (@matt_lozar) September 28, 2019

Miss an OL that could move a defense more than 1 yard. #NDInsider

— Gary Veteto (@vetetogary) September 28, 2019

Ian Book needs benched for a series and I know people will say put in a freshman. Well the moment is clearly to big for Ian when any team has a pressure defense. #ndinsider

— Larry_dickman16@yahoo.com (@LDickman16) September 28, 2019

#ndinsider how does ND win this game? Make sure Ian book doesn't have to throw the ball

— Soap (@KeyserSozeSays) September 28, 2019

Notre Dame's defensive line helped flip the momentum in its favor. Okwara forced another Perkins fumble which defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa returned 48 yards. He couldn't quite score, but Jones took care of the rest with a two-yard touchdown run.

HUUUUUGE FUMBLE!!!!! Couldn’t quite make it in but we accept #NDInsider

— Stephanie Winters (@stephie_winters) September 28, 2019

OMG WE ALMOST HAD THE BEST FAT GUY TOUCHDOWN EVER #NDInsider

— Matt Lozar (@matt_lozar) September 28, 2019

Huge play from the defense there. May have just flipped this game. TJ punches it in. Needed that badly. #NDInsider

— Nick Gonzalez (@nickg1421) September 28, 2019

Myron grabbed that loose ball as if he thought it was a pork chop! #NDInsider#GoIrish#BeatCavaliers#UVAvsND

— Chris Buckley (@Toefer15) September 28, 2019

Play of the game #NDInsider

— Joshua Williams (@oshw1372) September 28, 2019

Loved seeing Tony Jones Jr. walking down the sidelines pointing at his number after that pick. Then goes in and drives it into the end zone. #NDInsider

— Rick Harris (@rickharris_dev) September 28, 2019

The defense came up big again when defensive end Jamir Jones forced a Perkins fumble, which defensive end Adetokunbo Ogundeji returned 23 yards for a touchdown.

While the offense found little success in the third quarter, Notre Dame still built a 28-17 lead.

Starting to get real nervous about this ND game. Do I leave work early to go home and watch the 4th or stay until the end of my shift and suffer in silence? #NDInsider

— Andrew Evans (@Evans__25) September 28, 2019

Thank God we have a defense because we don't have much of an offense this season against good teams.#NDInsider#NotreDame

— Larry_dickman16@yahoo.com (@LDickman16) September 28, 2019

LETS FREAKING GOOOOOOO. The defense has come to play #NDInsider

— Stephanie Winters (@stephie_winters) September 28, 2019

Can we put the defense out on offense as well? #GoIrish#nbcsports#NDInsider

— Shawn Foley (@SJLAFoley) September 28, 2019

#NotreDame defense right now. Chum in the water!!! #GoIrish#BeatCavaliers#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/kRgpkaB4JF

— Chris Buckley (@Toefer15) September 28, 2019

PSA: Ian Book is hot garbage ️#NotreDame#NDInsider#NDpic.twitter.com/j9ZdVq6BKc

— Patrick Darlington (@PatDarlington) September 28, 2019

Notre Dame's offense #NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/FbT8E3LgDf

— Gary Veteto (@vetetogary) September 28, 2019

The defensive dominance continued with an interception by safety Alohi Gilman. That left Notre Dame fans feeling pretty confident the Irish will close the game out with a victory.

High on the D not so much on the O..#NDInsider

— John Fete (@FeteJohn) September 28, 2019

If they don’t throw another pass it’s 100. #NDInsider

— This Is My Coping Mechanism (@D_Rak_75) September 28, 2019

100% now that the offense decided to finally show up. #NDInsider

— Tim Lory (@tim_lory) September 28, 2019

Scared optimism #NDInsider

— Chris Buckley (@Toefer15) September 28, 2019

pretty high...we've settled in at this point #NDInsider#GOIRISH

— Cocosl (@cdn515) September 28, 2019

100 #NDInsider

— Andy (@bigA_kizzle) September 28, 2019

#NDInsiderpic.twitter.com/KfIauNogoR

— Travis Cromley (@AF_Cromley) September 28, 2019

Trending #NDInsiderhttps://t.co/KUuiENwwp4

— Jim LaFrance (@JimLaFrance) September 28, 2019

Clark Lea for President #NDInsider

— Shannon Fay Kamenick (@IrishShanRocks) September 28, 2019

Notre Dame secured a 35-20 victory and successfully bounced back against a talented Virginia team a week after the tough loss at Georgia. The win put the Irish on track to potentially win all eight of its remaining regular season games, but there were still many questions left to be addressed concerning the trajectory of this team.

Big win Defense hands down came to play. Ian’s constant panic mode continues to makes me nervous. #NDInsider

— Stephanie Winters (@stephie_winters) September 28, 2019

If Julian Okwara doesn’t get two desserts tonight there is no justice in the world. #NDInsider#GoIrish#BeatCavaliers

— Chris Buckley (@Toefer15) September 28, 2019

Wasn’t pretty but it looked like we’ve found a bit of a running game and the defense cleaned it up after half. Zone didn’t work out so well. Regular base was much better. Kids flew to the ball. Defense the story of the day. #BookIt#NDInsider

— Nick Gonzalez (@nickg1421) September 28, 2019

Irish Win #GoIrish#WeAreND#NDInsider#NDFBpic.twitter.com/V5xpZFiij3

— Chino (@Chino1047) September 28, 2019

Takeaways clearly the highlight, great DL play. Good coverage. Obviously the O is a concern. Book has lost confidence AGAIN. Or, he just doesn’t have the tools. #NDInsider

— MarkyD (@uDontEvenKnoMe) September 28, 2019

Impressed: D. Worried: Book. #NDInsider

— Michael Scaletta (@mikes1160) September 28, 2019

#NDinsider Defense and the ability for the turnovers surprised me I was pleased with the run game. Book kind of disappointed me

— Cecelia Metz (@missymetz) September 28, 2019

The dominance of the defense and fact that they won that game can not be stated enough. The offense just looks messy and Book does not seem sure of himself, there’s flashes but no consistency. I do like that they capitalized on a majority of the turnovers. #NDInsider

— Nicole Becker (@Crazy4OReilly90) September 28, 2019

#NDinsider love the defensive halftime adjustments....hate the missed opportunities on O. Kyle Hamilton for Heisman 2021

— David (@David_1980_ND) September 28, 2019

#NDInsider Worries: Cornerback Play

— Chip (@ichipher) September 28, 2019

Most Impressive: Defensive playmaking. Most worrisome: Ian Book seems not to have made the leap. #NDInsider

— David Kern (@dakern) September 28, 2019

#NDInsider Best second half of defense ever by Irish. Concerns: Book and offense; no rhythm all day; still can’t stay in pocket. https://t.co/25dphCSA9A

— Jim LaFrance (@JimLaFrance) September 28, 2019

#ndinsider defense bails out book.

— Soap (@KeyserSozeSays) September 28, 2019

Impressive: The defense..... Worried: Book appears to have regressed. Definitely disconcerting. But a solid win against a ranked team. Injuries are concerning going forward. #NDInsider

— Kevin McCarthy (@Irish30Mac) September 28, 2019

Didn’t expect this year’s defense to be an all-time #NotreDame unit, but they’re heading that direction. #NDInsiderhttps://t.co/QgN0a5Z24K

— Donald (@Fresno_Domer) September 28, 2019

Most impressed: pass rush and QB contain.

Worried: Book's ongoing lack of poise and leaving plays on the field.#NDInsider

— Bill Gilligan (@irishfan357) September 28, 2019

Impressed: Tony Jones Jr. is UNSTOPPABLE!! Our defense was killer today.

Worried: What's going on with Book? It's like he's lost his confidence. No presence in the pocket.

Also worried: Is Claypool OK?

Bummed about: Shaun Crawford #NDInsider

— Malia (@therewererumors) September 28, 2019

#NDInsider the defensive adjustments in the second half!!

— Tom B (@ND_Irish229) September 28, 2019

The defense was lights out in the second half. Ian Book scare the you know what out of me so far this season. Never looks comfortable in the pocket, not patient and the two grounding penalties today, yuck. What is wrong with him? #NDInsider

— Tim Lory (@tim_lory) September 28, 2019

Remember when we had a great O and a terrible D? I'd rather have both be great. But D travels better and keeps us in games. That offense, though... #ndinsider

— Justin (@therealputnam) September 28, 2019

Worried about slow starts & Book. #NDinsider

— The Man Who Knocks ‍☠️ (@JiveUnited) September 29, 2019

#NDInsider had to be impressed with the adjustments at half on defense and want to see more of a sense of urgency outta Book

— Wannabirish (@Wannabirish24) September 29, 2019

Hands down it was the defense. The offense and Book’s decision making left a lot to be desired for. The offense has to get it together fast. #NDInsider

— EL (@EL001) September 29, 2019

The adjustments made by coaching staff; defensive players (w/ depth) instinctively getting after it were impressive.

Offense continues to lack crisp execution need to clean it up

Special prayers to Shaun Crawford another tough injury #NDInsiderhttps://t.co/uAclBG5VRk

— Patrick McMahon (@pkmcmahon89) September 29, 2019

Masterclass given by the D today. Offense was horrific! I’m afraid it’s a sign of things to come. #NDInsider

— yo murphy (@rofeal1) September 29, 2019

Chip Longs play calling all season! #NDInsider

— Chris Rassi (@c_rassi) September 29, 2019

I expected big things from Chris Finke this season. Game after game he continues to disappoint. Any other player would be benched for the same mistakes. Great win though. Defense came up BIG. #Onward#NDInsider#GoIrish

— Chris Buckley (@Toefer15) September 28, 2019

The Irish run onto the field before the Notre Dame-Virginia game in Notre Dame Stadium.