Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/605097
TURNING POINT Leading 10-3 with about two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Notre Dame faced third-and-eight from its 47-yard line. Sophomore quarterback De- Shone Kizer had not been able to connect with star junior wide receiver Will Fuller all night, but this time found him on a crossing route. Kizer threaded the needle, and Fuller took the intermediate pass to the 21-yard line for a 32-yard advancement. Two plays later, senior wideout Chris Brown leapt for a 12-yard touchdown catch over strong safety John Johnson, who was in position to make his second interception in the end zone in the game. That touchdown to cap a 73-yard drive gave Notre Dame the breathing room it needed with a two-score lead (16-3) against a Boston College team that has not been able to score more than 17 points in its last nine games. STAT OF THE GAME Seldom will a football team emerge victorious when it loses the turnover cat- egory 5-1, yet Notre Dame was able to survive that disparity with a three-point victory. Crucial to emerging with the win was that none of those five turnovers resulted in any points for Boston College. Three of the turnovers occurred in the red zone, meaning the Irish left any- where from nine to 21 points on the field. That gave Notre Dame 14 turnovers in the red zone the past two seasons, which is the most in the nation. The last time the Fighting Irish had five turnovers in a game was the 55-31 loss at Arizona State on Nov. 8, 2014, with two of them interception returns for touchdowns. It was fortunate this time that they played the nation's worst of- fense among Power Five schools. HOW MUCH LEFT FOR STANFORD? Losing senior running back C.J. Prosise (high-ankle sprain) and senior corner- back KeiVarae Russell (stress fracture in foot) probably will make Notre Dame the underdog at Stanford, if it wasn't already. Seven major starters, plus a couple of top reserves, will not be in the lineup for the Irish against a potent Stanford team, which is coming off a 35-22 win over rival Cal after losing to Oregon the week prior. Notre Dame likely has punched its ticket to playing in at least a Big Six major bowl. If it doesn't make the College Football Playoff, it is expected to be invited to either the Fiesta or Peach Bowl. At minimum, it still has a chance to win its first major bowl since 1993. Still, the Irish have proven their resilience all season, so winning at Stanford shouldn't be considered far-fetched. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI