Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 NOV. 19, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: BOSTON COLLEGE NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. BOSTON COLLEGE PASS DEFENSE Following a 263-yard rushing effort in the upset of Clemson — one that included 100-yard games from both Estime and Diggs — Irish head coach Marcus Freeman surprisingly announced that he awarded junior quarterback Drew Pyne the of- fensive game ball. Pyne completed only 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Irish junior tight end Michael Mayer against the Tigers. But Pyne's game management, clutch play on critical downs to extend drives, and his ball protection were all notable. During the three-game winning streak against UNLV, Syracuse and Clemson, Pyne was just 32- of-64 passing (50.0 percent) for 406 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His three-game stats look like single-game numbers for some NCAA quarterbacks. But with a dominating Irish running game, no heroics or gaudy stats have been needed from Pyne, which is exactly what the Irish coaches are looking for. Mayer continues to be Pyne's favorite target. The junior tight end easily led the Irish in receptions (51), receiving yards (624) and touchdown catches (7) after the Clemson game. He also led all tight ends in the country in receptions through games of Nov. 5, and he was tied for first at his position in TD catches. Notre Dame has yet to find much production from its wide receivers in a passing game that ranked only 115th nationally with 184.0 yards per game. Even with a troubling pattern of dropped passes, Irish sophomore wide receiver Lorenzo Styles still led the Notre Dame wide receivers with 24 catches for 292 yards, pedestrian numbers in- deed. But consider no other Irish wideout even had 175 yards receiving through the first nine games, and Styles stands out. For Boston College, it was allowing 217.6 passing yards a game heading into its matchup with North Carolina State last weekend, which ranked 51st nationally and fifth in the ACC — middle of the pack numbers on both lists. With 6 sacks — which tied for fourth individually in the ACC last week — Ezeiruaku led a BC pass rush that tallied 2.0 sacks a game, the No. 78 mark in the country. The Eagles had 6 interceptions as a team through nine games, 2 by Arnold, the team leader in the category. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Six blocked punts for Notre Dame this season — which the Irish have parlayed into 24 points — led the nation through Nov. 5. Jordan Botelho recorded the biggest punt block of those six in the first quarter against Clemson when the junior linebacker made one that sopho- more linebacker Prince Kollie snagged out of the air and returned 17 yards for a touchdown. The score gave Notre Dame a 7-0 lead that it never surrendered. For Boston College, there is not much to report in this category. The Eagles haven't returned a punt or a kickoff for a touchdown this season, though they did allow a kickoff return for a score. BC has allowed two blocked field goals, which no doubt will have Irish special teams coordinator Brian Mason's crew salivating at the opportunity for more. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Freeman's stock as the rookie Irish head coach hit rock bottom after the 16-14 loss to Stanford Oct. 15, a defeat that temporarily dropped pre- season No. 5 Notre Dame completely off the col- lege football radar. But with three straight wins in the games that fol- lowed, including then-No. 16 Syracuse and then-No. 4 Clemson, Freeman's popularity has returned to its preseason high, and maybe even higher. Notre Dame never trailed in its consecutive wins over UNLV, Syracuse and Clemson, and it resurfaced last week in the Associated Press poll at No. 20. BC head coach Jeff Hafley, who is finishing his third season with the Eagles, has posted a 14-18 mark in his first 32 games but won only two games in nine outings this season. Before arriving in Chestnut Hill, Mass., the 43-year-old Hafley spent most of his 19-year coaching career as an NFL assistant. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES After losing six straight games to Boston College from 2001-08, Notre Dame has beaten the Eagles eight straight times in this series since 2009. The last three Irish victories (2017, 2019 and 2020) came by an average of 26 points. BC entered its matchup last weekend against North Carolina State losers of four straight games, while Notre Dame faced Navy after winning three straight and five of six. The Eagles haven't won at Notre Dame Stadium since 2007. However, Boston College has a history of pulling stunning upsets against the Irish, and this would qualify as another one epic one if it can pull it off. Advantage: Notre Dame Sophomore defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku paced Boston College in tackles for loss (10.5) and sacks (6) during its 2-7 start. PHOTO COURTESY BC FOOTBALL