Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1484595
18 NOV. 26, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA C onsider the snow that fell over Notre Dame Stadium during a 44-0 Fighting Irish rout of Boston College the cherry on top of a sundae fit to feed the bellies of 73,503 bundled up fans nestled inside the storied venue. Sure, it was cold. Freezing. But it was also a magical moment meant to last a lifetime. Take it from sophomore left tackle Joe Alt, a Minnesota man who has seen his fair share of snow. "It was a blizzard out there," Alt said. "And being able to be out there with the offensive linemen, my teammates, my brothers, it's a memory that I think I'll be able to flash back to the rest of my life. "Just being out there with them, hav- ing so much fun playing the game, play- ing the game the right way." The "right way" is right. Notre Dame pounced on the feeble Eagles from the start, connecting on a short field goal to take an early lead. Then freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison secured the first of his 3 in- terceptions on the day to set up the Irish offense with a short field. Notre Dame scored seven that time. With a 17-0 first-quarter lead and a 37-0 edge at halftime, Notre Dame fans could have left before the snow even started to fall if they wanted to. The game was in hand. But most of those 73,503 stuck around to at least bask in the unique experience for at least a little while. Those who did saw Morrison come away with pick No. 3 just as the heavy stuff started to flutter. Notre Dame was going to have its way with Boston Col- lege rain, snow or shine. The Irish piled up 281 yards rushing to the Eagles' 56. That doesn't happen by accident or by way of the weather. Notre Dame challenged itself to send the Irish seniors out with an emphatic home win. Nobody let anyone down. It was a wire-to-wire triumph, perhaps Notre Dame's most dominant of head coach Marcus Freeman's first season at the helm. "We spent a lot of time as a team talk- ing about what an opportunity we get to perform one more time as this team at Notre Dame Stadium," Freeman said. "It's a special place. And our perfor- mance hasn't always reflected that way. "I wanted to make sure we finished this season in this last opportunity that way." Box, checked. With a little snow to boot. FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 17, BOSTON COLLEGE 0 Top Moment: Graduate student wide receiver Matt Salerno, a former walk-on, caught the first touchdown pass of his career, a 1-yarder from junior quarterback Drew Pyne off a run-pass option. Feature Performer: Sophomore running back Logan Diggs had 7 car- ries for 75 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter alone. His first carry of the game went for 51 yards. Stats: Notre Dame outgained Bos- ton College 213 to 48 in total yards. The Irish had 9 first downs to the Eagles' 1. Notre Dame averaged 9.7 yards per play to Boston College's 4.8. The Irish pos- sessed the ball for 11:42. Items: Graduate student kicker Blake Grupe put the first points on the board with a 26-yard field goal … Morrison's first interception came on third-and-10 during BC's first possession … Notre Dame ran 5 times in a row after the Morrison pick, and Diggs got in the end zone from 1 yard out … Pyne competed throws of 23, 28 and 14 yards in the three plays just before the Salerno touchdown … Morrison's second interception came on a shot into the end zone from the 25- yard line; he high-pointed the ball in the face of the BC wide receiver. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 37, BOSTON COLLEGE 0 Top Moment: Senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey broke the all-time Notre Dame career sack record with his 25th on the final play of the quarter. SNOWBALLED Notre Dame runs away from Boston College in a hurry en route to a 44-0 victory on Senior Day The Fighting Irish limited the Eagles to 173 total yards and 3.0 yards per play while shut- ting them out for the first time in the 27 meetings between the two schools. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER