This was not the afternoon that Notre Dame had planned. The Irish had last weekend off after their 34-24 win over USC and came out extremely flat against Boston College. The Eagles entered this matchup 1-7 and were riding a seven-game winning streak, but you wouldn't have been able to tell the way this game unfolded, especially in the first half. Notre Dame's offense, despite having the week off, came out flat and failed to put any points on the board in the first quarter. Their first points came on a 4th and 7 play when quarterback CJ Carr hit receiver Malachi Fields for a 40-yard touchdown. Unfortunately, the kicking woes have continued for the Irish and Noah Burnette missed the extra point.
The Irish defense held strong through the first 20 minutes of game time, limiting Boston College's offense and coming away with an interception on a tipped pass caught by safety Tae Johnson. Notre Dame was unable to capitalize on the turnover due to Jadarian Price's third fumble of the season inside of the red zone. Boston College drove down the field but was stopped on 4th down on a fantastic play by Luke Talich deflecting a pass where his range and length were on full display.
The offense responded and Carr found receiver Will Pauling on a 44-yard touchdown pass deep down the middle to extend the lead to 12-0. The Irish went for two and ended up failing to convert; the rest of the second half was down-hill from there for Notre Dame. They allowed Boston College to drive down the field and Eagles receiver Reed Harris caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on Leonard Moore. The Irish offense drove down the field, got into field goal range with one second remaining, but the special teams woes continued.
They trotted out true freshman Erik Schmidt in place of Burnette, but Schmidt's kick was wide left and the Irish headed into the locker room with a mere 12-6 lead over the 1-7 Boston College Eagles. Despite outgaining the Eagles 286 to 163 in the first half, Notre Dame was only up by 6 at the break. Neither team has been able to establish an identity on the ground and combined for 59 total rushing yards at the half.
The second half got off to a bad start as well. The Notre Dame defense allowed Boston College to go on a 21-play, 74-yard drive that ended in a field goal; it took 11:20 off the clock. The Irish offense didn't take the field until there was 3:36 left in the 3rd quarter. Notre Dame punched it into the end zone on their first possession of the third quarter but failed to convert on the point after attempt, again. Boston College was driving down the field until safety Adon Shuler picked off quarterback Grayson James giving the ball to Notre Dame on the 6-yard line.
After being held in check for the first three quarters, running back Jeremiyah Love scored on their first play of their first possession of the 4th quarter on a 94-yard touchdown run. Notre Dame held Boston College to a three and out on their ensuing possession but followed it up with a head scratching fake punt that was doomed from the start.
Even though the Irish won 25-10 they have a lot to work on this upcoming week. Overall, this team looked extremely undisciplined. Offensively they started off slow, defensively they started fast but began to unwind as the game progressed. Special teams, specifically the kicking game, was down right abysmal. Notre Dame has to figure out their kicking game struggles immediately. The Irish advance to 6-2 on the season and have won their 6th straight game, but Marcus Freeman's team has a lot to work on before they're playoff ready.
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