Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1185700
36 NOV. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI IT'S OFTEN A GRIND One of the tiresome clichés that is annually heard, especially when Notre Dame has its struggles in a given year is, "Playing Notre Dame is like the Super Bowl for the other team." The Notre Dame-Boston College series often has been referred to as college football's "Catholic Super Bowl" or "Holy War" because they are the lone two schools of that faith represented in the 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision. Whatever the title might be, it's been a red-letter game for the Eagles, who often are at their best against the Fighting Irish. Boston College had a six-game winning streak in this series from 2001-08, before Notre Dame won the next six from 2009-17 — so consider this season "the best of 13." The common thread in both win- ning streaks was the games tended to be grinding, highly physical and low- scoring affairs. In the six victories in a row by the Eagles, the average score in their favor was 21.6-14.3, with the highest output by both teams the 27-25 Boston College victory in 2003. The pendulum swung in 2009 with similar hard-fought victories by Notre Dame. • The winning streak for the Irish began in head coach Charlie Weis' final season (2009), when a late in- terception by linebacker Brian Smith preserved a 20-16 victory. • On Senior Day in 2011, played in the rain, Notre Dame eked out a 16-14 victory in a game that standout running back Jonas Gray suffered an ACL tear. • A year later en route to a 12-0 regular season, head coach Brian Kel- ly's squad returned to his home area and posted a typically methodical 21-6 conquest. • In 2015, Notre Dame's Shamrock Series was moved to Boston's Fen- way Park. The Irish improved to 10-1 with a 19-16 victory, but committed five turnovers (three inside the Bos- ton College 5-yard line) to allow the Eagles — who finished 3-9 — to stay in the game right to the end. An outlier in this series came in the most recent meeting, at Chest- nut Hill in 2017, when the Fighting Irish romped to a 49-20 victory on the strength of a 207-yard rushing effort by Brandon Wimbush, a single- game record by an Irish quarterback, and 229 yards by running back Josh Adams. That game was in September, while the late-November games between the two schools have become quite the grind. THE GRANDSON ALSO RISES Every school has "the ones that got away" stories in recruiting, but one of the biggest for Notre Dame in this decade was not landing Boston Col- lege running back AJ Dillon. The grandson of former Notre Dame All-American wide receiver and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Thom Gatewood (1969-71) — who moved near to the Notre Dame campus in retirement — Dil- lon starred at the 2015 Irish Invasion camp, even winning a sprint contest, but reportedly the Irish seemed inter- ested in him as a linebacker. A native of Connecticut, Dillon originally committed to Michigan be- fore opting to stay close to his North- east roots and sign with Boston Col- GAME PREVIEW: BOSTON COLLEGE Top STorylineS The Eagles' offensive line — led by junior right tackle Ben Petrula — has paved the way for the nation's fourth-best rushing attack (282.2 yards per game) through the first 11 weeks of the season. PHOTO COURTESY BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL