Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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son made a long throw across the field for an 18-yard touchdown. Boston College was the one trading touch- downs for field goals. The Eagles squeezed their own 16-play mara- thon possession between Notre Dame's first half touchdowns. Ret t ig threw for 80 yards to get his team to the 8-yard line before taking a sack and resigning to a 36- yard field goal. Redshirt junior kicker who entered the game with only 25 career car- ries, had success early with screen passes. He caught four of them for 40 yards. Spaziani di- aled up reverses, hook- and-ladders and double passes as well, but noth- ing got behind the Irish defense. "You thought you penalty calls. "The only thing I'm not happy with is the turnovers. We have to take better care of the ball," Kelly said. "But they played hard, and they played physical for four quarters." Only eight regular sea- Nate Freese made both of his attempts, moving to 14 of 16 this season. He also hit a 45-yarder in the fourth quarter. The Eagles tried to keep the ball on the perimeter when they could, but rushed for on.y 53 yards with a de- pleted backfield. Lead- ing rusher Andre Wil- liams missed the game due to an abdomen in- jury. Veteran receiver Bobby Swigert joined him on the sidelines dur- ing the second half after injuring his knee. Spaziani turned to were at Disney World. There were Mickey Mouse plays every- where," said senior line- backer Manti Te'o, who set a school record for interceptions by a line- backer with his sixth of the season. "But ev- erybody did their job. Nobody really stepped out of the framework of the defense, and even though there were some reverses, screens and a lot of those type of plays, we kept them out of the end zone." The win was hardly every page of the play- book to try to get what he had left on the field moving against Notre Dame's defense. Fresh- man David Dudeck, a pretty one. The same problems that pushed the Irish to triple over- time against Pittsburgh surfaced again on the road. Riddick (18 car- ries for 104 yards) and sophomore George At- kinson III both lost their first fumbles of the sea- son. Notre Dame lost 65 yards because of eight son quarters remain for Notre Dame now. The Irish return home next week for Senior Day against Wake Forest be- fore ending the year in Los Angeles against the floundering USC Tro- jans. If they can continue to play complete games in those final two weeks, they will at worst be one of three teams with a le- gitimate claim to a ticket to the national champi- onship game. Kansas State and Oregon stayed at the top of the polls with definitive wins this weekend. The Irish did nothing to change the minds of voters, but went on the road and methodically won another game. "That 's how the coaches portray every road game," senior tight end Tyler Eifert said. "It's a business trip. Let's get in there, take care of business and get out of there." ✦