Fighting Irish high character evident in win over Boston College

The Fighting Irish played one of their worst games offensively this season.

They had four turnovers in the first half, most of them in the red zone when touchdowns should have been scored and one more turnover in the second half.

Besides the turnovers, the receivers had a number of dropped passes and DeShone Kizer had a difficult night throwing. He had three interceptions and over threw a number of wide receivers.

In his news conference, Brian Kelly spoke about the game, but opened his remarks by discussing the injury situation. Cornerback KeiVarae Russell suffered a tibia fracture which will require surgery. He will be out six to eight weeks and probably won’t be able to play in a bowl game or the playoffs. Replacing Russell will be Devin Butler, Nick Watkins, and Nick Coleman. By playing all of them, there is no pressure on any one player.

C.J. Prosise has a left ankle sprain and is doubtful for the Stanford game. Josh Adams will carry the running load for the Fighting Irish. Kelly expressed confidence in him and is happy that he has been solid in all of his previous appearances. Dexter Williams will also be involved and Kelly mentioned that DeShone Kizer will also have an increased role in the running game.

One of the bright spots for the Fighting Irish in this game was the special team’s play of Matthias Farley. He was given the game ball in recognition of his three big plays. He caught the off-side kick near the end of the game where the Irish were able to run out the clock. He made the tackle on Boston College’s fake punt that gave the Irish the ball in Boston College territory and he downed the ball inside the ten yard line. Farley is a team captain who not only makes plays, but is a leader on the team.

Concerning the poor offensive play and turnovers, Kelly said the cause was a lack of team focus and the play of Boston College defense. The offense did not make good decisions and there was a lack of ball security. Five turnovers is unacceptable and the players know that. Given the overall bad play of the offense, Kelly said that because of the high character of the team, they did not turn on one another. They persevered through this victory with team members pulling for each other rather than turning on one another. The Fighting Irish will have to clean up their mistakes to be able to beat Stanford.

Kelly said one of the most satisfying moments was that the team stayed united throughout the game. Their character helped overcome the mistakes and misplays the offense made. He expects the high character of his team to shine through in its game against Stanford. He knows the team will lay it all on the field. Other positives of the game were the offense’s ability to move the ball up and down the field even though most of the drives ended with turnovers.

Kelly concluded his news conference by stating that Daniel Cage will be back for the Stanford game. His return allows the team to get back to their usual defensive line rotation.

The season is coming to an end with Stanford as the last regular season opponent. This writer thinks the Fighting Irish must win this game convincingly to make the college playoffs. When the season ends, there will be a myriad of one loss teams for the playoff committee to consider. In the Big 12 Conference, the better teams are playing each other so their strength of schedules will improve. If the Fighting Irish can execute well and play mistake-free football, the Irish have a chance to win this game convincingly. The character this team developed throughout the year should help them to a great win over Stanford and a chance to play in the playoffs.