Will Malik Zaire continue to shine on the road against Virginia?
Zaire’s performance against Texas was magnificent. He missed on just three of his 22 passing attempts for 313 yards with three touchdowns, and most importantly, no interceptions.
That was a huge bonus for head coach Brian Kelly, who made the comparison to last year, when Everett Golson threw 14 interceptions to the detriment of the Irish.
“Well, I think that, you know, we’re quite aware of where we were last year when we turned the football over,” Kelly said. “I think Coach Sanford has done a great job in developing that kind of identity with our quarterbacks, and I think we feel confident that we’ll continue to work on that and we know that that’s no secret, but it’s a thing that we know, it’s going to be singularly the reason why we can win.”
Texas’ defense isn’t exactly formidable, however. Zaire’s next test against Virginia should test his mettle quite a bit more. While it’s true UCLA took it to the Cavaliers last weekend, Rosen was on fire. It’ll take a similarly hot performance by Zaire to keep the Fighting Irish on the winning path—especially considering this is a road game.
If he can continue playing smart football while making explosive plays—both running and throwing the ball—then it’ll be time to admit Notre Dame is a legitimate playoff contender.