CJ Carr and Jeremiyah Love ignited the offense, while Drayk Bowen and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa anchored a dominant defensive effort in Notre Dame's sixth straight victory.
Notre Dame won its sixth straight game on Saturday when it headed East to beat the Boston College Eagles by a 25-10 score. It wasn't always pretty but the Fighting Irish earned its sixth straight double digit victory as well. There were a number of standouts on both sides of the ball, but several players stood above the rest.
Here are my players of the game from the Notre Dame victory:
OFFENSE - CJ Carr, QB - Jeremiyah Love, RB
Carr Stats: 18-25, 72.0%, 299 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT / 12 rushing yards
Love Stats: 17 att, 136 yards, 8.0 YPC, 2 TD / 4 catches, 36 yards
Runners Up: WR Malachi Fields (2 catches, 52 yards, 1 TD), TE Eli Raridon (3 catches, 59 yards), RG Guerby Lambert
Redshirt freshman CJ Carr was coming off the least effective performance of his career during the win over USC, so you saw how he handles adversity in this game. Carr rebounded with a strong all-around performance to fuel the offense. Carr was accurate (72-percent), he was aggressive throwing the ball down the field, he used his legs to move the chains and he handled Boston College taking some cheap shots. Carr processed reads well and didn't allow his previous performance to impact how he played against the Eagles. There was no pressing, no rushing through things and he made plays for the Irish offense.
While Carr had the greater impact from start to finish, Jeremiyah Love had another outstanding performance as well. The junior rushed for 136 yards on 17 carries (8.0 yards per carry) against a Boston College defense that was committing a ton of resources to stopping him and the run game. Despite the extra attention, Love was able to churn out positive yards, maximize the opportunities that were available and on the one play where the line got great movement and got a body on a body he was able to explode for 94 yards. That play showed his patience, evolving presence as a runner and of course his big play speed.
Senior wide receiver Malachi Fields caught two passes for 52 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Fields also drew a pass interference penalty on the first play of the game and blocked extremely well in the game. Senior tight end Eli Raridon was only targeted three times, but he caught all three balls for 59 yards. His back-shoulder catch of a slot fade was one of the more impressive highlights of the game. Right guard Guerby Lambert continues to improve and he had yet another dominant performance in both the run game and in pass pro.
DEFENSE - Drayk Bowen - Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, LB / Josh Burnham, DE
Bowen Stats: 14 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 sack, 1 break up
Viliamu-Asa Stats: 9 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks
Burnham Stats: 3 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack
Runners Up: DT Jared Dawson (2 tackles, 1.5 TFL), S Tae Johnson (5 tackles, 2 INT), S Adon Shuler (4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 break up)
The Notre Dame front six had an outstanding performance against Boston College, but three players were the best of the best. I've never had three players earn POTG honors, but I just couldn't separate these three standouts.
Junior captain Drayk Bowen had one of the best performances of his career, both statistically and from an impact standpoint. Bowen racked up 14 tackles, with all 14 being listed as solo tackles. He had two stops behind the line and a sack in the game. Bowen also continued his improvement in coverage, breaking up another pass and clogging up the middle of the field when tasked with dropping in zones. Bowen was a key figure in the dominant run defense, which limited Boston College to just 12 yards on 33 attempts.
Sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa had an outstanding performance of his own, finishing with 9 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. His all-around play had a major impact in this game. Viliamu-Asa was solid in the run game, but he was also a disruptive pass rusher for the Irish. His ability to move around the line, disrupt in all phases and high talent level was simply too much for the Eagle offense. His personal foul penalty was for something that he didn't actually do (a throat slash), but watching live you can sort of understand what the official saw and why he threw a flag. It was a negative mark for Viliamu-Asa, but it doesn't completely diminish his overall strong performance.
We finally got to see a heavy dose of redshirt junior Josh Burnham and he showed why IB has been clamoring for him to be on the field more. Burnham played a season-high 40 snaps in the game (PFF) and he had an impact from start to finish. He made a tackle for loss in coverage, had a key sack in the game where dominated a tackle and then spun inside for the stop, and he was once again a force on the edge in the run game. The only "black eye" on his performance was a facemask penalty that was clearly not a facemask penalty. It was a terrible call and I don't ding Burnham at all for that play.
It was very hard not having transfer defensive tackle Jared Dawson as a player of the game. He was a major force up the middle and whipped the Boston College center and guards all game long. The first drive of the game was basically Dawson dominating and shutting down the BC offense. Safeties Tae Johnson and Adon Shuler both had picks, and Shuler had the break up that led to Johnson's first pick. They were strong all game for the Irish.
SPECIAL TEAMS - James Rendell, P
Stats: 2 punts, 42.5 average, 2 inside the 20
Rendell continued his brilliant season with his two punts. His first punt landed at the 15-yard line while his second punt pinned the Eagles at the 1-yard line. Rendell's ability to place the ball and kick with finesse has combined with a powerful leg to allow him to have an outstanding senior campaign.
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