5 takeaways from BC football’s 7th consecutive loss to Notre Dame
They had “a poor third quarter" that turned a relatively tight game into a blowout.
COMMENTARY
Midway through the second quarter Saturday, there wasn’t much separating Boston College and Notre Dame.
It wasn’t as though the Eagles executed to perfection early, but they made enough timely plays on both sides of the ball to claim a 7-6 lead with 7:56 remaining in the half after a 1-yard touchdown run from quarterback Dennis Grosel.
The possibility of an upset loomed, however there was still a lot of football to be played. The Fighting Irish responded with back-to-back scoring drives to take a 16-7 lead into halftime, then they outscored the Eagles 24-0 after the break to turn a once-tight contest into a 40-7 blowout.
Though the game was closer than the score indicated, BC (5-6) never really posed a threat after its lone touchdown. No. 15 Notre Dame (9-2), meanwhile, got stronger as the afternoon progressed, hitting its stride in the third quarter.
Notre Dame has now won seven straight over BC, 17 in a row at home, and four consecutive games overall. BC has dropped two straight and three of four, and it needs to beat Pittsburgh this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to become bowl eligible.
“It’s not on anybody specifically,” AJ Dillon told reporters. “We just got to do better.”
Here are five takeaways from a game that quickly got away from the Eagles.
The Eagles started strong.
The final score is a bit misleading on this particular day. That 40-point performance jumps out, but BC only allowed six Notre Dame points in the first 27 minutes.
With an extra week to prepare for the Irish, the Eagles came out energized yet under control on defense. The Eagles had allowed 302.3 passing yards per game coming in, which was 125th in the nation, yet they surrendered just 85 midway through the second quarter.
Tanner Karafa registered his first sack of the season midway through the first quarter to bring up a third and 31, one of several defensive highlights to start the game.
The Eagles were oftentimes content with giving up short gains to prevent sizable ones, and the strategy worked early. They got unlucky when Brandon Sebastian dropped what would have been an interception, and they got lucky when Chase Claypool dropped what would have been a touchdown for ND.
The offense capitalized when Grosel hit Kobay White in stride on a perfectly thrown ball for a 39-yard gain. It initially appeared as though White was in, but he was eventually ruled short. Dillon almost scored as well, but he couldn’t contort his body into the end zone. Finally, Grosel faked a handoff to Dillon and bounced to the outside to waltz in untouched and punctuate a 16-play, 84-yard drive that spanned 6 minutes, 52 seconds.
The Eagles, who entered as 20.5-point underdogs, looked poised to keep it close, yet that’s when everything went awry.
“It was a shame because it was a hell of a game, going through the first half and into the second half,” BC head coach Steve Addazio told reporters. “But that’s why you play two halves, and obviously we didn’t play a very good third quarter.”
.@BCFootball falls to Notre Dame, 40-7. 🦅#WeAreBC pic.twitter.com/vxVXwj18ZV
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) November 23, 2019
They had “a poor third quarter.”
A pivotal play Saturday came when Notre Dame converted on fourth and 3 deep in BC territory. The Irish then found their way into the end zone to pull ahead, 13-7, with 2:48 left in the half.
Grosel lost the ball on the next drive and Alec Lindstrom pounced on it to limit the damage. The Eagles had to punt, though, and the Irish marched from their own 17 all the way into field-goal range in just over a minute. Jonathan Doerer, who was 4 for 4 on both extra points and field goals, drilled a 45-yarder with 1 second left after a pass interference call on Jahmin Muse.
Those are the kind of sequences that don’t burn you against decent teams but do against great teams, and that’s what happened here, as ND extended its lead to 16-7 going into halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, Grosel fumbled again, and this time Notre Dame recovered. The Irish entered the game fifth in the country with 105 points off turnovers, including 28 last week against Navy, and they capitalized to make it 26-7.
“This defense has played as well as they can, and now they’re starting to bend,” announcer Doug Flutie said.
Braden Lenzy scored two minutes later, Notre Dame added to its cushion early in the fourth, and suddenly it was a 33-point margin. The Irish scored 21 points in an eight-minute span late in the third and early in the fourth to break the game open.
“I felt great about it at halftime, but we just had a poor third quarter,” Addazio said.
📺 Broadcast highlights from NBC beginning with a sack of QB Ian Book from DT Tanner Karafa.#WeAreBC🦅 pic.twitter.com/7VY6O8oyOF
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) November 24, 2019
BC’s run game never got going.
The Eagles came into the day fifth in the country with 282.2 rushing yards per game, and they only mustered 128 on Saturday. It was their second-lowest output of the season, ahead of only the Clemson game.
BC has cracked 400 yards on the ground twice, but it couldn’t generate much of a rhythm against a stout Irish defensive line. Dillon finished with season lows in both carries (14) and yards (56), Grosel had 13 for 66 and the score, and David Bailey added 10 for 27.
It’s rare that BC’s longest run comes from its quarterback, yet Dillon and Bailey were never able to break free. Notre Dame won the possession battle, 34:56-25:04, and it ended up with 501 all-purpose yards, compared to 191 for the Eagles.
BC only registered 11 first downs, which is an extremely low number for an offense that prides itself on moving the chains and wearing the other team’s defense out.
There were some intriguing off-field angles.
Outside of the game itself, there were several captivating storylines heading into this one.
Addazio coached special teams along with the tight ends and tackles at Notre Dame from 1999-2001. Irish head coach Brian Kelly is from Chelsea, attended St. John’s Prep in Danvers, and played and coached at Assumption College in Worcester.
Dillon’s grandfather, Thom Gatewood, was a star for the Irish back in the day, as Boston Globe reporter Julian Benbow pointed out in a recent article. Gatewood, who was shown on the broadcast in the stands wearing a BC hat, was the first black captain in Notre Dame history. He’s also a college football hall of famer.
Earlier in the week, the Eagles made it clear they were invigorated for the game. Nolan Borgersen said they relished the role of underdogs, but they weren’t able to reclaim momentum in a rivalry that has been one-sided of late.
“I don’t think it was an energy letdown,” Addazio said. “I think it was an execution letdown.”
They have one more chance.
Now BC’s mission is clear – beat Pitt to keep its season alive.
Players often say they’re not looking ahead, and now there’s truly nowhere to look ahead to. This is it. Win and they’re almost definitely still playing, lose and they’re almost definitely done, barring an unforeseen twist.
One positive sign for BC fans is that Pitt lost, 28-0, to Virginia Tech on Saturday. Yes, that same Virginia Tech team the Eagles defeated, 35-28, in Week 1. The Hokies are now ranked, so that early-season win for BC looks better every week.
But if there’s one thing to know about college football, it’s that it’s totally unpredictable. Anything could happen against the Panthers, and the Eagles are hoping to stay afloat.
“It’s to extend the season,” Karafa said. “It’s do or die.”
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