Notre Dame prepares to hit the road for Virginia

Notre Dame hits the road this week to Charlottesville for their first road game against the Virginia Cavaliers. The Irish are hot off the heels of a blowout victory over Texas, while the Cavs are coming off a loss to UCLA. 

It was a standout 38-3 win, and now the Irish have cracked the top 10 in the coaches poll coming in at No. 8.

Head Coach Brian Kelly says that could mean seeing a Virginia team on Saturday with added motivation for an upset. 

"Just watching them on field it's very apparent this is a well coached football team," said head coach Brian Kelly.

Kelly believes Virginia's QB will provide a much different challenge in the secondary than Texas.

"Matt Johns is a solid quarterback. He throws the ball well," Kelly said. "He manages the offense extremely well."

And now with more eyes on the Irish, Kelly says the team's mental game will be the greatest hurdle.

"This still comes down to our preparation, and meeting and exceeding our opponents will to win."

Kelly also announced the depth chart at running back after losing Tarean Folston for the season.

C.J Prosise will take the top spot on the depth chart. Freshmen Josh Adams and Dexter Williams round it out. All three will take first team reps in practice. Kelly expects to rotate all three in game.