Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. BC PASS DEFENSE This is a mixed bag. On one hand, sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer passed for 320 yards against a defense that was surrendering only 164.8 yards per game (third in the nation). On the other, Kizer also tossed three interceptions — two in the red zone — and never seemed to get comfortable or in a rhythm in the pocket, often throwing behind his receivers. After starting 8-of-12 passing for 112 yards, he missed on seven straight throws, which helped the Eagles stay within striking distance. Boston College's bracket coverage kept junior wide receiver Will Fuller in check, not allowing him to catch a pass until near the final minute of the third quarter — plus he would drop three, including a cer- tain touchdown on a deep pass in the fourth quarter. However, so much attention on Fuller left the middle vulnerable on quick slants, with fifth-year senior slot receiver Amir Carlisle catching four passes for 52 yards in the first quarter alone (including a touchdown) en route to a career-high seven grabs for 97 yards. Senior wideout Chris Brown also had a career game with six catches for 104 yards, highlighted by his leaping 12-yard touchdown catch over strong safety John Johnson — who appeared to be on the verge of his second end zone interception — in the fourth quarter for a 16-3 lead. Overplaying one area usually leads to concessions or openings at another, and Brown and Carlisle took advantage of it. ADVANTAGE: Even SPECIAL TEAMS Boston College began the game with its kickoff going out of bounds, and it continued downhill from there. An Irish kickoff was returned only to the 17, and a fake punt by the Eagles was stopped short of the first down by fifth-year senior safety Matthias Farley to give Notre Dame the ball at the BC 40. That resulted in an Irish touchdown drive — after a roughing the kicker call on the Eagles on a missed field goal — providing a 10-0 lead. In the second quarter, BC lost a fumbled punt at its 4-yard line, but it became inconsequential when the Irish fumbled three plays later. On the plus side, Farley also pounced on the on- side kick in the final minute, while freshman Jus- tin Yoon converted both of his field goal attempts, which proved to be the difference. The negatives for the Irish included the Eagles' Michael Walker returning the second half kickoff 67 yards to set up a field goal, and a mishandled snap by Kizer on a missed point after try by Notre Dame to leave the score 16-3. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Both defenses excelled, with Boston College suc- cessful on only 2 of 13 (15.4 percent) of its attempts, while Notre Dame was 4 of 15 (26.7 percent). The most crucial conversion belonged to the Irish in the third quarter on third-and-eight when Kizer found Fuller for a 32-yard gain to the BC 21. That set up the touchdown to make it 16-3. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Notre Dame had three of its five turnovers in the red zone. None of the five turnovers (compared to the Eagles' one) resulted in a Boston College score, but it allowed the Eagles to stay in the game. ADVANTAGE: Boston College ANALYSIS This was a typical Notre Dame game versus Boston College: not artistic and a street fight down to the wire. The 19-16 Irish victory reminded us of two other games that seemed to have a "whatever can go wrong will" premise: one was the 14-7 loss to the Eagles in 2002 and the other was the 23-20 defeat to South Florida in the 2011 opener. Both were turnoverfests. The important difference is the Irish survived their red zone woes this time in a game that probably should have been over by halftime. ✦ ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI