SOUTH BEND, Ind. — There was a time when senior day felt more like a final exam than an end-of-school party. Games like Saturday’s matchup with Virginia were tripwires, as Notre Dame got wrapped up in its feelings rather than focusing on the game.

There were losses to Louisville, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and UConn. There were escapes against Boston College and Navy. None of those results happened that long ago, even if they date back to the end of the Charlie Weis era. But they might as well have been from a different generation considering how Notre Dame has figured out how to compartmentalize the extra tension that comes with a final game inside Notre Dame Stadium.

“We all have to make sure you get your emotions under control before that song plays, before we’re gonna kick that ball off or return,” Marcus Freeman said. “You have to get your emotions back in check

That all assumes Saturday is the final game Notre Dame will play here this season. And maybe that helps with context.

Notre Dame has won its past six home finales by an average of 37.2 points. Freeman’s two senior sendoff games — Wake Forest and BC — were victories by a combined 99-7 score.

It all makes this weekend feel a bit more predictable for No. 8 Notre Dame (8-1) as it hosts Virginia (5-4) at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC. If the Irish simply keep doing what they’re doing — getting responsible play from Riley Leonard and exemplary work from their defense — they should cruise into their bi-coastal final acts, facing Army at Yankee Stadium next weekend, with rival USC to follow during Thanksgiving weekend.

Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans (88) has 18 catches for 154 yards and one touchdown this season. (Matt Cashore / Imagn Images)

With all that in mind, here are three keys and a prediction for Saturday:

Build up Greathouse and Evans

A 52-3 blowout is full of offensive wins. It’s just that what Notre Dame did with slot receiver Jaden Greathouse and tight end Mitchell Evans against Florida State might be the start of a trend. Arguably Notre Dame’s two best weapons in the passing game, Greathouse and Evans combined for 10 targets, seven catches, 87 yards and one touchdown last week.

Evans had an acrobatic 17-yard catch the officials correctly ruled an incompletion after a replay. But the moment looked a lot like Evans from last year when he dominated Ohio State and Duke. If that version of Evans is finally back, now more than a year removed from his torn ACL, the Irish offense might find a new gear.

“(Evans) played the best game he’s played all year,” Freeman said. “The most complete game in the run and pass game that he’s played all year. It was great to see him make that touchdown, and that catch was a big-time catch. I know it was incomplete, but that’s the Mitchell Evans we’ve been waiting on.”

Greathouse is second on the team with 23 catches, 310 yards and one score. It’s not the season the Irish expected from a potential lead wide receiver, but the sophomore looked the part on tunnel screens against Florida State after getting open deep against Navy.

“He just continues to show up,” offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. “I mean, every time we lean on him or put him out there and put him in a position to make a play, he’s been consistent, and he’s made them, and they’ve been explosive.”

If the Irish can string success together for Evans and Greathouse, the passing game could end the season on a high note.

Don’t miss Cross in the middle

When Howard Cross went down with a high ankle sprain last week, it put a major dent in Notre Dame’s defensive line for the short term. The defensive tackle won’t play against Virginia and might not play again until the game against USC. With reserve defensive tackle Jason Onye away from the team for personal reasons, one of Notre Dame’s great strengths has been cut in half.

A rotation of Rylie Mills, Gabe Rubio and Donovan Hinish does feel like a first-world problem for a defense that ranks in the top 10 in almost every major category. But the Irish have been slightly vulnerable against the run (No. 25 at 3.47 yards per carry allowed). Losing Cross won’t make that any better; not that the Irish need to concede it will get worse.

Mills and Rubio are prototypes, both 6-foot-5 and pushing 300 pounds. Hinish is three inches shorter and nearly 25 pounds lighter. Yet the coaching staff feels like the junior can hold up at the point of attack.

“We say it all the time, keep recruiting guys that love the game as much as you,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “All you have to do is turn on the tape, and you’ll understand his passion for the game.

“What you can’t see is his preparation, his tenacity. He’s dogged every day in terms of here’s what I gotta do, and I’m gonna do it. He’s a blessing to have on this team.”

Virginia may not stress Notre Dame’s short-handed defensive tackle rotation, with the Cavaliers ranked 91st in yards per carry (3.93) and 85th in rushing yards per game. A week later against Army might be a different story, with the Black Knights No. 1 in rushing at 334.49 yards per game, which is 66 yards per game more than No. 2 Boise State.

Just keep winning

The path for Notre Dame to get into the College Football Playoff is clear.

Win out and the Irish will head to the 12-team field, no questions asked. But hosting a first-round game is slightly more complicated, not that the Irish can’t have their path cleared by the end of this weekend.

Only two CFP contenders have a single-digit point spread on Saturday, with one matchup a win for Notre Dame either way. No. 7 Tennessee heads to No. 12 Georgia (7:30 p.m., ABC) in what is probably an elimination game for the loser. If the Vols score an upset, it eliminates the Dawgs from the CFP conversation and makes Georgia one of the season’s biggest disappointments. If Georgia wins, Tennessee likely falls into “first four out” territory thanks to a weak schedule. The Vols have a quality home win over Alabama, and that’s it. Tennessee doesn’t have another win over an FBS program with a winning record, with only UTEP and Vanderbilt remaining.

A Tennessee win is probably best for Notre Dame because it knocks out one of college football’s most talented rosters. But either way, the Irish benefit.

Any other result that benefits Notre Dame would feel like chaos, like Texas losing at Arkansas (Noon, ABC), Oregon losing at Wisconsin (7:30 p.m., NBC) or BYU losing at home to Kansas (10:15 p.m., ESPN). All would help the Irish move up the polls and probably improve Notre Dame’s shot at a home Playoff game.

But the most important thing is for Notre Dame to win.

Prediction

After two-plus seasons of searching, it feels like Freeman has found his groove on the sidelines. Mentions of his inexperience are down. Consistent performances are up. That reliability should carry through the regular-season home finale. It’s hard to see the Cavaliers finding much success against one of the nation’s best defenses. It’s also hard to see Virginia bottling up Leonard. It all means the Irish will pull away in the second half, continuing their push toward the Playoff.

Notre Dame 35, Virginia 14

(Top photo of Jaden Greathouse: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

A recent change to early voting may be helping Democrats in a series of special elections that are about to happen.
 
It’s called the permanent absentee list. Since 2020, voters can ask to receive a ballot in the mail for every election – not an application for a ballot, but the actual ballot for every election, including special elections that most voters don’t pay attention to.

Ben Tribbett is a Democratic consultant who says voters who don’t even know a special election is happening will find out when the ballot arrives in the mail.

“I did a special election a few years ago in Fairfax under these new rules, and it was different than any other special I’d ever done before,” Tribbett says. “Because by the time Election Day rolled around, we knew that 3,000 mail ballots had already been returned and 2,500 of them were for us.”

For now, this is a process that benefits Democrats says former Republican Delegate David Ramadan, who is now at George Mason University’s Schar School.

“Absolutely, the Democrats have the advantage on this in Virginia,” Ramadan says. “They started the absentee registration when Republicans were still on the Trump no-early-voting period. The Republicans have changed that, but Democrats had [a] few seasons on them on this.”

Another new law all but eliminates party-run caucuses to select candidates, but that applies only to regularly scheduled elections, not special elections. So, Democrats and Republicans will be conducting party-run nominating votes for a special election to a Loudoun state Senate seat this weekend.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

The Gonzaga men’s basketball team will reportedly host Virginia transfer Jalen Warley on a visit in the coming days.

According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Warley will be in Spokane on Friday — when the Bulldogs host UMass-Lowell at the McCarthey Athletic Center — and Saturday before taking a trip to Ames, Iowa, for a visit with Iowa State. The 6-foot-7 senior told Rothstein earlier this week that he planned on visiting Gonzaga, Iowa State and Texas A&M, though he has not scheduled a date with the Aggies yet.

Warley was the first Cavalier to enter the portal during the 30-day window that was opened by Tony Bennett’s surprise retirement on Oct. 18. He indicated to Rothstein that he plans on taking a redshirt year for the 2024-2025 season.

Warley transferred to Virginia after spending three seasons at Florida State, where he briefly crossed paths with current Gonzaga assistant coach, R-Jay Barsh. Warley was a sophomore when Barsh was an assistant coach on Leonard Hamilton’s staff in 2022-23. Warley finished top 20 in the ACC in total steals (41, 17th) and assists (105, 18th) that season.

As a junior in 2023-24, Warley put up 7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 33 games, including 32 starts. He once again finished in the top 20 in the ACC in total steals (42) and steals per game (1.3). Though Warley is known more for his reputation on defense, he did have three straight games with 10 or more points to end his season and had a 23-point outing against Louisville in February.

Warley won’t be eligible this season, though a commitment from him would be a big step toward replacing the six seniors on the roster who will graduate this spring. That includes all five starters plus 6-foot-7 wing Michael Ajayi, who came off the bench in Gonzaga’s wins over Baylor and Arizona State. Colgate transfer Braden Smith took a redshirt upon joining the Bulldogs this offseason and will likely play a crucial role in 2025-26.

Bennett retired roughly two weeks before the start of the college basketball season. He served 15 years as head coach of the Cavaliers, and under his leadership the program went 364-136 and won the national championship in 2019. Ron Sanchez was named the program’s interim coach for the 2024-25 season, though the school will conduct a national search to fill the full-time head coaching position after that.