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4 takeaways from Boston College’s 45-31 home loss to No. 2 Notre Dame

The Eagles started strong, but the Irish ultimately had too much firepower.

Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec has played with a separated shoulder the last two games. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

By Trevor Hass

5 minutes to read

COMMENTARY

After flying out to a commanding lead against then-No. 1 Clemson and fizzling in the second half two weeks ago, Boston College entered Saturday’s showdown against current-No. 2 Notre Dame eager to redeem itself and knock off a different college football giant.

The Eagles’ matchup with Notre Dame wasn’t quite as jarring – in terms of how they started and how they finished – but it followed a somewhat similar trajectory as the Clemson game. In this one, BC built a lead in the second quarter before the Fighting Irish scored 21 points in the final 10-plus minutes of the half to pull away.

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Boston College (5-4, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) kept it respectable, and never let the game get out of hand, but Notre Dame (8-0, 7-0 ACC) simply had too much firepower in a thorough and convincing 45-31 victory. With the “Red Bandanna Game,” the “Holy War” rivalry, and quarterback Phil Jurkovec’s reunion with his former team all on their minds, the Eagles couldn’t quite hand the Irish their first loss.

BC has shown its ability to compete with the nation’s elite teams in flashes, and now the next step is sustaining that momentum and putting together complete games against the ACC’s juggernauts.

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“I believe we can beat anybody in the country,” wide receiver Jaelen Gill said. “There’s just little things we’ve got to fix. I don’t think we’re too far off from any team in the country.”

Phil Jurkovec separated his shoulder against Clemson but hasn’t stopped competing.

If it seemed like Jurkovec’s mechanics might have been a bit off against Syracuse and Notre Dame, that’s because he separated his shoulder in the Clemson game.

Head coach Jeff Hafley revealed Saturday night that Jurkovec “barely threw the ball” leading up to the Syracuse game and “could barely lift his arm up in the air.” Jurkovec said after facing Notre Dame that he’s been in a bit of pain the past couple of weeks and it’s been “hard with accuracy.” He said he’s had to recalibrate and slightly alter his throwing motion.

Jurkovec wasn’t 100 percent in practice this week, but there was zero chance he was sitting out against his former team.

“He was going to play in this game no matter what,” Hafley said.

It wasn’t Jurkovec’s best performance, but he still made plenty of positive plays throughout the night. He finished 18 of 40 for 272 yards, plus two touchdowns and an interception, and 43 yards on the ground.

“It shows you how tough he is, what a good leader he is, and how good he’s going to be,” Hafley said. “I’m very proud of him. He made some big plays in this game. He’s fearless. He’s had a really, really good nine weeks, and I’m just excited he’s on our team right now, because I don’t know if there’s another quarterback in the country I’d want leading our team at this point.”

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Afterward, Jurkovec said he has “lasting friendships” with Notre Dame players that he’ll certainly appreciate for years to come. He acknowledged it was a “special game” and said it was disappointing to fall short.

Regardless, Jurkovec believes the Eagles are trending in the right direction, and he’s encouraged by what he sees.

“If anything, this game, it just showed me I’m in the right place,” Jurkovec said.

The Eagles started strong, but the Irish gained momentum late in the half.

While the Irish ultimately pulled away and cruised to a victory, the beginning of Saturday’s game felt once again like a possible upset in the making.

Zay Flowers reeled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jurkovec with 5:03 left in the first quarter, Brandon Barlow recovered a Notre Dame fumble, and Aaron Boumerhi drilled a 41-yard field goal to push BC’s lead to 10-3.

The Irish scored with 11 seconds left in the quarter, but Boumerhi responded with another field goal to make it 13-10 BC with 12:41 left in the half. Boston College nearly executed an onside kick, but it was called back due to an illegal block.

That’s when it went downhill for BC, as Notre Dame erupted for three more touchdowns – including one with four seconds left – to take a 31-16 lead into the break.

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Quarterback Ian Book, who was 20 of 27 for 283 yards and three passing touchdowns, along with a rushing TD, consistently extended plays and found Ben Skowronek and other receivers.

“We really wanted to focus on keeping (Book) contained,” Barlow said. “We know what type of run threat he can be when he gets out of the pocket. He got some opportunities against us to scramble and make some plays.”

BC tried to rally, but the deficit proved to be insurmountable.

BC came out strong to open the second half, as Jurkovec orchestrated a methodical drive downfield. On fourth and a long 1, at Notre Dame’s 9-yard line, he handed the ball off to Travis Levy for no gain. If the Eagles had converted and eventually scored, they would have only been down one score and well within striking distance.

Josh DeBerry forced a fumble and Max Richardson recovered it to give BC back the ball, but Jurkovec threw an interception and Notre Dame capitalized to take a commanding 38-16 lead with 6:34 left in the third.

Hafley stressed the importance of converting in the red zone and stopping Notre Dame on third down, and both were problematic in the third quarter.

David Bailey scored from three yards out to slice the deficit to 38-23 through three, Notre Dame converted again, and Long reeled in an eight-yard touchdown grab, to push it to the 45-31 final, but the game had been decided by that point.

The Eagles had their chances, and uncharacteristic fumbles from Notre Dame gave BC a chance, but nothing materialized.

“You don’t look at this game and say they just came in and rolled us off the field and beat us by 40,” Hafley said. “We were in it.”

Nine games in nine weeks has taken its toll, and it’s an ideal time to get some rest.

After a grueling stretch of nine games in nine weeks, the Eagles will finally get a chance to rest as they enter their bye week.

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Hafley said it’s time for a break to recharge and recover, particularly after facing No. 1 and No. 2 in a span of three weeks. While they made it clear the exhausting nature of the schedule isn’t an excuse, Hafley and the players did indicate that the bye comes at an ideal time.

BC hosts Louisville on Friday, Nov. 27, at noon, and travels to Virginia on Saturday, Dec. 5, to finish the regular season. Wins in their final two games would put the Eagles at a very respectable 7-4. Splitting would put them above .500, and two losses would somewhat sully what’s been a very promising season thus far.

The Eagles are ready to put this game and the Clemson game behind them, regroup, and turn their attention to Louisville.

“We’re going to catch our breath right now, because they deserve to catch their breath, with everything they’ve done, and everything they’ve sacrificed, and everything they’ve been through,” Hafley said. “Then we’re going to come back, and we’re going to finish this season the right way.”

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Trevor Hass

Trevor Hass is a sports producer for Boston.com, where he writes and edits stories about Boston's professional teams, among other tasks.

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