Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BC RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE With the worst offense in the Football Bowl Subdi- vision, the Eagles seemed content to begin virtually every series with a couple of running plays that could grind out three or four yards in order to put itself in a manageable position of third-and-five or shorter. On one of those first downs in the fourth quarter, freshman quarterback Jeff Smith sprinted 80 yards off the zone read for a touchdown. Had Smith been in the entire game, it could have made it tougher sledding for the Irish defense that was out of posi- tion on a few keepers. The Irish did well against the conventional ground plays, but Smith and starting freshman quarterback John Fadule combined for 164 yards on 13 carries with their mobility. BC accumulated 214 yards on the ground after averaging 153.6 yards in the first 10 contests. ADVANTAGE: Even BC PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Other than a deep ball that an open Thadd Smith dropped inside the Irish 20 late in the first half, Boston College seldom found separation against the Notre Dame defense, managing only 88 passing yards on 22 attempts, an anemic 4.0 yards per pass. The best plays via the pass were impromptu scram- bles by Fadule for positive yardage. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. BC RUN DEFENSE Although Notre Dame's 127 rushing yards eclipsed what Boston College's No. 1-ranked run defense had been yielding per game (71.7), the Eagles defense controlled the line of scrimmage and gave up only one big run — a 31-yard sweep by senior C.J. Prosise on the game's opening possession. Notre Dame's game plan was to try to run around the Eagles on the edge, not at them, but the stretch play was repeatedly foiled, often for negative yard- age. Boston College was sound in containment and quick to the perimeter. In his return from an injury, Prosise had difficul- ties hanging on to the football, and freshman Josh Adams (13 carries for 39 yards) also fumbled inside the Boston College 5-yard line. ADVANTAGE: Boston College ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Junior free safety Max Redfield, making the stop here, and the Irish defense held Boston College in check until a couple of late touchdowns by the Eagles made the game dicey at the end. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA