Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Junior nose guard Louis Nix (left), junior linebacker Danny Spond (right) and the Irish defense limited BC to 53 rushing yards and 2.3 yards per carry. No. 118th-ranked Boston College rushing offense needed to get into at least triple figures in net yard- age. That was not going to be likely after totaling 42, eight and 12 yards the previous three games. There was a genuine effort during the first quarter BC RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE To have any chance of defeating Notre Dame, the PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA of room in the red zone and forcing two minus-yard plays, one of them a sack by junior outside line- backer Prince Shembo, who took up residence in the Eagles backfield while Notre Dame often rushed only three or four men. The pressure became stronger in the second half, to get the run involved, and it peaked in the sec- ond with a 20-yard scamper by senior running back Rolandan Finch followed by 14 yards on a reverse by junior wideout Alex Amidon. By the start of the second half, the Eagles nixed the run, replacing it with screens in an effort to stretch Notre Dame hori- zontally. They finished with only 53 yards rushing, courtesy of a handful of Fighting Irish sacks. Advantage: Notre Dame lowing the Notre Dame front to push up field before dumping off screens for some chunk yardage plays. It's greatest success came on the second series when junior quarterback Chase Rettig completed passes of 15, 10, 19, 10 and 26 yards before running out BC PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE The Eagles manufactured some early success by al- forcing extra protection and limiting the Eagles' op- tions. Rettig's 43 pass attempts averaged only 5.8 yards. Advantage: Notre Dame 104 yards), although he lost his first fumble of the year, ran both the power and stretch plays effec- tively. The zone stretch, especially toward the left side, consistently produced quality gains. The real story, though, is how confident the staff NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. BC RUN DEFENSE Senior running back Theo Riddick (18 carries for has become with sophomore quarterback Everett Golson (11 carries for 39 yards) running on designed plays from an empty backfield, the option down the line, or even the draw. During Notre Dame's game- changing 87-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, Golson picked up five yards on a stretch play on third-and-four, scrambled for four on third-