Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: BOSTON COLLEGE TOP STORYLINES BY LOU SOMOGYI Under former head coach Tom O'Brien (1997-2006) and longtime de- fensive coordinator and current head coach Frank Spaziani (2009-12), the Boston College football identity was as basic, hard-hat and blue-collar as they come. LOST IDENTITY recording an amazing six straight vic- tories against Notre Dame from 2001- 04 and 2007-08. The physical ground attack actually 1) Run the ball. 2) Stop the run. This identity was the backbone of began with second-round draft pick Mike Cloud (1995-98), but first-round selection William Green (1999-2001) began the dominant phase that would then include all-time rushing leaders Derrick Knight (2002-03) and Montel Harris (2008-10). Even when first-round NFL pick Matt Ryan was the centerpiece of the attack at quarterback in 2007, Boston College won at Notre Dame (27-14) with running backs Andre Callender and L.V Whitworth combining for 158 yards on 30 carries. As for Boston College stopping the run, in Notre Dame's five consecutive losses to the Eagles from 2002-08, it averaged 73.2 yards per game on the ground. In recent years, even with Harris on offense and mega-star linebacker Luke Kuechly (2009-11) — the 2011 recipi- Despite solid production from junior running back Andre Williams (599 yards and four touchdowns), the Eagles routinely get outperformed on the ground by an average of 249.9-85.6 yards per game. PHOTO COURTESY BOSTON COLLEGE ent of the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, the Lott Impact Trophy and the Bronko Nagurski Award, a feat that Notre Dame's Manti Te'o could con- ceivably duplicate — that identity has gradually dwindled. week's game at Wake Forest, Boston College ranked 117th nationally in rushing offense (85.6 yards per game) and 118th in rushing defense (249.9 yards per game) among 120 Football Bowl Subdivision programs. Conversely, Notre Dame has recap- tured its longtime identity of running In 2012, it has completely faded. During its 2-6 start and entering last