On Saturday afternoon, the Boston College football team hosted the #12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Alumni Stadium for a fall match-up between two old Catholic rivals, the 27th iteration of the Holy War.
The two teams came into the game with very different season outlooks. Notre Dame is fighting hard to win out the remainder of the season so that they can sneak into the College Football Playoff with a 10-2 regular season record. BC, meanwhile, came into the contest sporting a 1-7 record in one of the worst season starts in program history.
The game started off surprisingly quiet, with neither offense able to get much going early. Both ND’s and BC’s first drives of the game were 3 & outs. Notre Dame was able to get into BC territory on their next drive, but an incomplete pass on 4th & 3 turned it over on downs to keep it scoreless. Dylan Lonergan kept struggling to move the ball for the Eagles, converting just one first down before a pass backwards to Lewis Bond set them behind the sticks and forced a punt.
After messing around a little too much in the first quarter, Notre Dame started the second quarter with intensity. They ran it down BC’s throat to get across midfield before CJ Carr found Malachi Fields for a 40-yard TD pass. The Irish kicker Burnette missed the PAT, though, keeping the score at 6-0. Dylan Lonergan quickly threw an INT on the next possession for BC, prompting Bill O’Brien to sub in Grayson James at quarterback midway through the second quarter. Notre Dame took their ensuing drive all the way to the BC 5-yard line before fumbling back to the Eagles, who then were led by James for 68 yards downfield before turning it over on downs at the Notre Dame 27-yard line. It was a messy and mostly scoreless second quarter, until…
CJ Carr quickly found Will Pauling for a 44-yard TD strike with under two minutes remaining in the half. The ensuing 2-point conversion failed, limiting ND’s lead to 12-0. Not to be outdone, Grayson James and the Boston College offense manufactured a TD drive of their own the close out the half, hitting Reed Harris for a 25-yard TD pass with only 27 seconds remaining. Despite being a huge underdog, BC found themselves down only 12-7 after one half.
The offenses of both teams stayed in rhythm as the second half began. BC steadily plugged along with a drive of successive short runs and throws, draining 11:20 of clock before eventually being stopped in the redzone. They kicked a field goal to bring the score to 12-10. Notre Dame moved the ball downfield with ease on their next drive, completing a few 10+ yard passes before eventually punching the ball into the endzone with a 3-yard rush. ANOTHER missed PAT meant the Irish extended their lead to only 18-10.
The next drive was a crucial one for BC, but they fell short when it mattered most. Multiple Notre Dame penalties helped the Eagles along as they completed some short passes and ran Turbo Richard forward for a handful of yards at a time. But an ill-advised 3rd down floater throw by Grayson James fell right into the hands of a Notre Dame defender. That INT was immediately followed by Jeremiah Love breaking out for a 94-yard touchdown run to the other endzone. That sequence essentially spelled doom for Boston College, turning a promising and potentially game-tying 4th quarter drive into a disaster in a matter of seconds. It was a 25-10 lead for Notre Dame with 11 minutes remaining.
Grayson James was sacked on the next third down, resulting in a quick 3 & out for BC. The Eagles defense came up with a big 3 & out stop of their own on the other side, and then a Notre Dame failed fake punt set up BC with great field position still down by two possessions. They were able to put together a solid drive after that, but a holding call, a questionable intentional grounding, and then a sack snuffed out any remaining hope for BC. The 4th & 32 hail mary attempt fell incomplete to seal their fate. Notre Dame went on to secure a 25-10 victory.
