When the Notre Dame football team faces off against Boston College on Saturday afternoon, the Fighting Irish will face off against a new face. The Golden Eagles, one of the worst teams in Power 4, have a quarterback problem. They've tried Dylan Lonergan and Grayson James to find the right combo, and now they're going back to Lonergan in hopes of knocking off the Fighting Irish.
Lonergan, a transfer from Alabama, started the season as Boston College's QB1. He started the season off like gangbusters.
Notre Dame’s defense looks to feast on struggling BC offense
Those who look at Lonergan's numbers without looking much deeper might see someone who could be a real problem for Notre Dame. And if he could capture what he did at the beginning of the season, he might be a problem indeed.
Lonergan has 9 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions. However, after throwing 8 touchdown passes in his first two games against Fordham and Michigan State, he's only gotten one more TD since. That came in his third start, a 30-20 loss to Stanford.
Head coach Bill O'Brien benched Lonergan after a loss to Clemson and James started the last two games for Boston College. However, James was banged up in the Golden Eagles' game against Louisville, and according to Pete Thamel, they're going back to the former Crimson Tide quarterback.
Since throwing for 300 yards in each of his first three games, he hasn't topped 200 yards in his last three starts. He's also thrown 2 interceptions and no touchdowns.
He's a talented quarterback who hasn't done well with what he's been given. It's a safe bet the Notre Dame defense will pin its ears back and go after Lonergan all day on Saturday afternoon.