20 OCT. 11, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED
BY TYLER HORKA AND ERIC HANSEN
N
otre Dame's only deficit of the
day must not have sat well with
the Fighting Irish.
Boise State took a 7-6 lead
with just more than four minutes re-
maining in the first half. At that point,
anything wacky or weird could have
easily ensued. And — or — the Irish
could have easily lost another home
game by one point in a game in which it
botched an extra point.
Nope. Not this time.
Notre Dame responded immediately,
taking the lead back just before halftime
on a nine-play, 75-yard possession, and
the Irish opened the second half with a
defensive stop and another effective scor-
ing drive of 10 plays and 79 yards. By then,
after a successful two-point conversion,
they were up by two touchdowns on an
afternoon in which the Broncos were
hard-pressed to put points on the board.
Final: Notre Dame 28, Boise State 7.
See? No. 21 Notre Dame (3-2) can win
grind-it-out, defensive slugfests in the
year 2025. It wasn't expected to be one
with two teams averaging a little more
than (Notre Dame) and just less than
(Boise State) 40 points per game, but
you've got to roll with game flow. And
the Irish did admirable job with that.
"We were able to be more consistent,"
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free-
man said. "We were able to win the one-
NO MORE BLUES
Notre Dame defense finds its identity
in 28-7 bullying of Boise State
