Despite turnovers, and letting Boston College hang in deep into the second half, the Notre Dame Football team came away with an important victory Saturday.
Going into their matchup with Boston College, the Notre Dame Football team was trying to avoid a let down against a program who had broken their hearts in the past. Looking to avoid a repeat of the 1993 season, when a No. 1 ranked Notre Dame squad were upset by the Boston College Eagles, veteran quarterback Ian Book made sure that the Irish would come out on top in this one.
Book led the Irish with his arm, and his legs, punishing the Boston College defense despite having his star running back, Kyren Williams, miss the entire second half. No Williams proved to be no problem, as C’Bo Flemister and Chris Tyree combined for over 100 yards, with Flemister scoring twice.
Both teams struggled with turnovers throughout the first half, and during the first quarter, the Eagles looked like they could pull off the upset. They hit the Irish with everything they could, including onside kicks, and forcing some turnovers, but in the end, the talent of Notre Dame won out.
Notre Dame was going up against former backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec, and that was a big storyline going into the game. Jurkovec and his teammates put up a fight, but were down 31-16 at the half, though the game seemed a lot closer than the score.
In the second half, Boston College responded to the Irish each time they scored, but were unable to mount the comeback. Book connected with Ben Skowronek for all three of his touchdown passes, as the Irish ran their win streak to 14 games.
With the win, Notre Dame runs their record to 8-0, and are in complete control of their destiny going down the stretch.
No. 2 Notre Dame Football avoids letdown, beats Boston College
Looking Ahead
Notre Dame was able to take care of business before the bye week, keeping their spot atop the ACC standings, and will now have two weeks to prepare for North Carolina. The Tar Heels have a pretty explosive offense, but barely beat Wake Forest this past weekend, so the Irish will need a better performance on defense than they showed against BC.
There are three games left on the Irish’s 2020 schedule, all against unranked teams, and two of the three games being played away from Notre Dame Stadium. If they can navigate the rest of their schedule, Notre Dame will likely get a rematch against the Clemson Tigers, who they knocked off as the No. 1 team in the country last weekend.
Book is having a special season, and even with Williams in the second half, they were able to move the ball at will against the Eagles. Book not only led the team in passing yards, obviously, but he was also the team-leader in rushing, finishing with 85 yards on ten carries including a crucial six-yard touchdown run.