Virginia’s season has been a roller coaster. Off to a 4-1 start, the Cavaliers regressed and lost three in a row, culminating in a 41-14 drubbing by North Carolina at home. Virginia then beat Pitt by 7.5 points to reach its current record of 5-4. Coach Tony Elliot is on an extremely hot seat, there have been numerous calls to trade the quarterback, and yet the Cavs need one more win to go bowl.

Notre Dame took care of business against an FSU program that would sit out its remaining games if given the chance and has been out of the national title game for some time now, riding four straight against inferior opponents since the Louisville game .

Can Virginia break this quiet quality streak from the Irish? If they will, here are three players who will play a significant factor for the Cavaliers.

Robinson broke out last year. Recording an astounding 71 tackles last year, Robinson was recognized as a first or second team All-American by most media outlets. This year, he proved that last year was no fluke.

While he hasn’t been as prolific in tackles, he still has an impressive 49 tackles with plenty of time left in the season. This year, however, he became a bigger presence at the back with four bags. Solid in coverage, great at clogging emergency lanes and improving as a blitzer, Robinson has a flush set of tools to attack the Irish.

Sanker has won ACC Defensive Back of the Week three times this year. His recognition is fully deserved. In the secondary, Sanker is adept at finishing plays. He leads the team with 69 total tackles, 20 more than second-place Robinson.

He also has an interception and a sack to round out his stat sheet. Virginia’s secondary might be the team’s strongest unit, and Sanker is the cornerstone around which the unit operates. Against the Irish, Sanker must look to force Riley into making some of the mistakes that plagued the Irish air attack in the first half of the season.

To put it mildly, Virginia does not possess an abundance of offensive firepower. Between a sophomore quarterback, mediocre offense and underlying organizational issues, the Cavalier offense ranks a disappointing 79th in the FPI.

However, when the Cavs offense has built some momentum, Fields is often at the center of its production. Fields leads the team in catches, yards and touchdowns. As an underdog, Fields will need a vintage performance with plenty of field goals to carry the Cavaliers offense, but if the Irish can’t dominate him, it could make things interesting.