Notre Dame football came out with a 35 to 14 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday. It was an impressive performance considering that the Irish were far from perfect. The offense was lackluster, and the special teams was poor, and yet the team managed to secure a four touchdown lead until the last score with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

While there was a lot to be positive about, there were also a few things that caused some major concern following the win. That’s especially true when projecting forward to a College Football Playoff run, which the Irish seem to be trending toward. Those couple of things need to get better down the stretch.

Who is going to make a play in the biggest moment?

The first major flaw comes on the offensive side of the football, where the wide receiver group continues to have some disconcerting drops over the last couple of games. There have been major questions about who the top pass catcher is on this team, and more important, who the team can depend on in the biggest moment in a football game.

If this team is going to make a playoff run, every game is going to be a high leverage situation. Coming into the season, most people probably would have said that tight end Mitchell Evans would be the pass catcher you could depend on. Evans has looked better the last couple of weeks, but the injury has clearly held him back.

After the first couple of games of the season, many would have said former Clemson transfer Beaux Collins would have been that guy. Since that strong start, Collins has fizzled. He hasn’t had a great game in a few weeks, and seems to have lost some confidence.

Then you had Jordan Faison begin to look like himself against the Navy Midshipmen. After an early season injury, could he be rounding into form? Could he be the guy? Over the past couple of games, it appears unlikely with the sophomore struggling big time with dropped passes.

One wide receiver who has emerged, and has stacked good performances, is sophomore Jaden Greathouse. We saw his impact against Navy, Georgia Tech, and Florida State. It appeared he could be rounding into form after a slow start. Unfortunately, Greathouse was injured during the game, but it didn’t appear to be a serious one. He could to be the best bet to find that money pass catcher down the stretch.

Quarterback Riley Leonard has been a ton better in recent weeks passing the football. You are starting to feel good about his progress, and ability to make big plays during a playoff run. The major question is, however, is who do you depend on to be the receiver on the end of a Leonard pass in a big moment?

Kicking game woes

Coming into the season, South Carolina transfer Mitch Jeter was viewed as a steadying force as a field goal kicker for Notre Dame. He came into the season as one of the most accurate place kickers in all of college football the last two years, and was expected to be a tremendous addition.

Unfortunately, his season has been compromised due to a hip injury that sidelined him for three games. We saw Jeter come back against Florida State, but he just didn’t look right. Against Virginia, we didn’t see Jeter attempt either of the two field goals.

Marcello Diomede and Zac Yoakam handled those duties, and each recorded a miss. Neither is a player you can depend on in a big moment right now. That’s what you brought Jeter in for, and you just don’t have the best version of him right now.

Getting Jeter healthy is an absolute priority for Notre Dame right now. If they don’t, then they could be in trouble come playoff time. Getting Money Mitch back is a must.