Dominant Second Half Propels Notre Dame on Senior Day

Early on, it looked like a typical ugly Notre Dame – Boston College game, but it ended with the Irish taking down the Eagles in convincing fashion.

It was Senior Day. It was emotional, it was ugly (at times) and it was exciting. Seniors Chase Claypool and Chris Finke found the end zone in their last game at Notre Dame Stadium. In potentially his final game, Ian Book was once again very good. The defense was absolutely dominant with many seniors leading the way. Senior Day was senior dominated. Walk-ons Mick Assaf and Nolan Henry even got into the action. A great way to send off a truly great 2016 class.

However, it wasn’t always super pretty. In fact, the first half was actually oddly ugly. The Notre Dame offense settled for three field goals, and Boston College led 7-6 late in the 2nd quarter. There were false starts, there were holding penalties and there were dropped passes. In a game that finished 40-7 Irish, it would be hard to tell by the first half.

With Notre Dame down by 1 with under 3 minutes left in the first half, Ian Book connected with Chase Claypool for a touchdown on a really impressive 6 yard slant route — redeeming himself for an earlier drop that was a likely touchdown if caught. A few minutes later, Jonathan Doerer would end the half with his third made field goal of the day and second from 45+ yards out.

Let me tell ya — I think the kid has a possible NFL future after many felt he could beat out for the job by a walk-on freshman in the spring. Doerer has been one of the many pleasant surprises for the Irish this season.

The start of the second half would resemble most of the first. Boston College simply couldn’t get anything going, and Notre Dame settled for its fourth field goal of the day on their second drive of the half, making in 19-7 Irish.

Speaking of the BC struggles on offense, coming into the game they were averaging 33 points per game and 281 yards rushing. The Notre Dame defense held the Eagles offense to a measly 191 yards total, while compiling 9 tackles for loss and 4 sacks — two by Ade Ogundeji and one each by Kareem and Gilman. AJ Dillon was boggled down for 56 rushing yards. Someone give Clark Lea the Broyles Award.

Oh wait, he didn’t even make the list of finalist.

You won’t find many assistant coaches in college football better than Lea. There is simply something about the defense that feels different. They look faster and bigger than year’s past, and the sound of the hits back that claim. A great testament to the coaching staff and strength and conditioning program.

After going up 19-7 with Doerer’s fourth field goal, the Irish offense would finally find that touchdown groove. Three out of the next four drives ended with 7 points: Book to Kmet, Lenzy long run, Book to Finke. Just like that, Notre Dame was up 40-7 and the Irish faithful were calling for Phil Jurkovec to finish the game.

Suddenly an ugly game that was going to leave fans from both teams with a bad taste in their mouth turned into the type of blowout a superior team still expects to accomplish when they aren’t at their best. This was Boston College’s Super Bowl and Notre Dame was able to soften the blow early on and take over the game in the second half.

Thank you to all the seniors. Julian Okwara posted a picture on social media before the game stating that he was going to tell his kids this was the best recruiting class in Notre Dame history. While that might be a stretch, it will go down as one of the best of the Brian Kelly era and one that helped springboard Notre Dame back to national prominence for years to come.

Next up is another obstacle that has haunted the Brian Kelly tenure in South Bend — defeating Stanford and David Shaw in Palo Alto. What has turned into one of Notre Dame’s biggest rivalries, has also turned into a somewhat lopsided affair for the home team in the series. Kelly’s Fighting Irish will look to take down that demon next Saturday night and give Notre Dame its 3rd straight season of ten or more wins.