Notre Dame and Virginia will meet on the football field for just the fifth time in history Saturday, when the Fighting Irish welcome the Cavaliers to South Bend for just the second time ever.
The history between Notre Dame and Virginia is very small but did have one of those all-time moments in Fighting Irish lore.
The year was 2015 and Notre Dame was fresh off a 38-3 destruction of Texas in Week 1. Next up was the program’s first ever trip to the state of Virginia when it took on the Cavaliers on Sept. 12.
Things started well enough for Notre Dame that day as tight end Durham Smythe was the recipient of a touchdown reception on a fake field goal attempt early in the contest. Justin Yoon missed the extra point but hit a pair of first quarter field goals to give Notre Dame a 12-0 lead before Virginia roared back with two touchdowns before halftime.
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The back-and-forth affair went into Notre Dame’s favor in the third quarter as Malik Zaire found Will Fuller for a long touchdown and CJ Prosise dashed for a 24-yard touchdown run. The 26-14 lead wouldn’t hold however as a pair of Virgina touchdowns gave the Cavaliers a 27-26 lead with just 1:54 to play.
Sprinkle in the fact that starting quarterback Zaire had been lost to injury and Irish had their backs against the wall in front of a Virginia home crowd that wanted to celebrate.
Instead, DeShone Kizer rose to the challenge in the closing seconds, finding Will Fuller for another long touchdown, and breaking the Hoos hearts along the way. Check out the highlight that never gets old below.
Had it not closed for good, I would still be able to show you the seat at Sprecher’s Restaurant & Pub in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin that I shot out of when that play was made.
The win moved Notre Dame to 2-0 on the young season. Notre Dame would go on to enter the regular season finale in a position to make the College Football Playoff, but a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds at Stanford would instead send Notre Dame to the Fiesta Bowl where it would lose to Ohio State.
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Sep 12, 2015; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver William Fuller (7) scores the game-winning touchdown past Virginia Cavaliers cornerback Maurice Canady (26) with twelve seconds left in the fourth quarter at Scott Stadium. The Fighting Irish won 34-27. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” are appearing in rural parts of Virginia in opposition to gerrymandered maps being voted on in a special election.
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‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: Northern Virginians fight redistricting plan
As the special election that will determine the fate of a plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts approaches, the state’s largest jurisdiction has started being referenced as a verb in messaging opposing the initiative.
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” started appearing in rural parts of Virginia, Cardinal News reported. And on social media, Del. Wren Williams, whose district includes several counties in the southwestern portion of the state, defined “Fairfaxphobia.”
Early voting has been underway for weeks, but on April 21, voters will decide whether to OK a plan that would redraw Virginia’s congressional map. Currently, the state has elected six Democrats and five Republicans across its 11 districts. The proposed map could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, experts say.
Virginia Democrats argue the step comes in response to President Donald Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-led states. Republicans have been critical of the effort.
Williams is describing “Fairfaxphobia” as a fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state and create policies impacting some communities that they can’t afford.
“We don’t want to be Fairfax County,” Williams told WTOP. “We don’t want skyscrapers. I don’t want to have to go somewhere outside and walk around to find some patches of grass to touch. I am interested in rural life, a little bit easier, a little bit simpler, a little bit more laid back, not as fast paced.”
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“Fairfaxphobia” graphic circulated to represent the fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state. (Courtesy of Wren Williams)
As part of the proposed map, Williams said, “at least five districts run up and split up Fairfax County, which will eventually lead to five sitting congressional members from the county of Fairfax, and that’s just not representative of the entirety of the commonwealth.”
Jeannette, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, said people who live in the northern part of the state “are seen as an anomaly, maybe to the rest of Virginia, given our, I think, collective more liberal leaning. And I understand why they’re saying that, but I think we should separate that from the goal of the referendum.”
Dave Lincoln, meanwhile, said Friday he hadn’t heard about the signs in rural parts of the state but, “I guess it’s — we are what we are.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell called the campaign disappointing, because “Fairfax County does a lot for the entire state. If it wasn’t for Fairfax, our state would have the economy of Mississippi.”
The “Don’t Fairfax Me” signs say they’re paid for and authorized by a political action committee called “New Vision VA.” Dominion Energy made a $25,000 donation to the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Yves Fischer, who lives in Alexandria, said the messaging and advertising on the redistricting referendum are confusing.
For Tiffany, “I guess they’re saying ‘Don’t Fairfax’ Virginia, because obviously we are a much more educated, classy, professional, employed area, and we, of course, are going to vote ‘yes’ on this.”
In Springfield on Friday afternoon, Ann said she hadn’t seen or heard about the signs, but, “It should be a big ‘no.’ It’s not right. It’s not fair to most Virginians.”
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ABINGDON, Va. (WCYB) — The made in Southwest Virginia artisan and craft market returns April 11, 2026.
The Southwest Virginia Cultural Center in Abingdon will host more than 20 local artists.
Those artisans will offer demonstrations of their work and they’ll also be selling some of their crafts.
“We want to give this opportunity for community members to come out, as the weather is warming up and as spring is rolling around, to meet these makers and take home a little bit of Southwest Virginia,” Ryan Vaughan with the Friends of Southwest Virginia said.
A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
