Irish Outlast Bumbling BC

Notre Dame parlayed a 5-0 advantage in the turnover battle to win a hard fought victory over Boston College by 20-16 on Saturday. Brian Smith’s interception at the Irish 22 with 1:38 left sealed the victory for the 5-2 Irish. Kyle McCarthy chipped in with two interceptions while Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate led Notre Dame’s attack by accounting for both of the team’s touchdowns.

The Irish defensive strategy of stopping the run and forcing Shinskie into long passing situations ultimately worked, but not before a few anxious moments had passed. Montel Harris, who gained 264 yards last week for BC, was held to 38 yards on 22 carries and committed two costly fumbles. Shinskie started and finished poorly, but had considerable success against the Notre Dame secondary in the second and third quarters. The 25 year-old freshman finished with 279 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions on a 17 for 35 passing performance.

Clausen was typically sharp for the Irish, who were forced into a short passing game by the bend but don’t break Eagle defense. The Heisman hopeful hit 26 of 39 passes for a modest 246 yards and two scores. Tate and Duval Kamara accounted for 18 receptions by taking advantage of the cushion afforded to them by the BC cornerbacks. Armando Allen ran 21 times for 98 yards to lead all rushers.

The game quickly developed into a defensive struggle. Nick Tausch converted the first of his two field goals on the opening drive, and hit again midway through the second quarter. The Eagles managed a safety when Clausen threw the ball away under pressure from Jim Ramella. BC took a 9-6 lead with 4:40 remaining before halftime when Shinskie hit Rich Gunnell from seven yards out. Notre Dame blew the coverage on the play and Gunnell was wide open.

As Irish fans have come to expect, Clausen took control and marched his team into the end zone for a 13-9 advantage in the final moments before intermission. Tate squeezed into the corner of the end zone with an 11 yard pass from his scrambling quarterback. The junior was eight for nine in that sequence, and the lone miss was the result of a dropped ball by his receiver.

Boston College came out strong upon receipt of the second half kickoff. Shinskie and Gunnell connected for two long gains, and Harris finished the drive from two yards out before three minutes had expired in the third period. Moments later, the Eagles regained possession at their own eight and moved swiftly downfield to the Notre Dame ten as Irish fans muttered about halftime coaching adjustments. Just as it appeared BC was going to extend its 16-13 lead, Harris coughed up the ball inside the Irish five.

The Eagles forced a three and out and regained passion inside Notre Dame territory with another opportunity to extend its lead. McCarthy came up with his first interception on a third down play after teammate Raeshon McNeil tipped a pass right to him. The third quarter ended with the Irish trying desperately to reverse the momentum.

A pass to Tate followed by a personal foul penalty helped Clausen move his team into scoring territory. The drive stalled a yard short the goal line, and coach Charlie Weis elected to go for the touchdown rather than a tying field goal. Robert Hughes was stuffed by safety Marcellus Bowman and Notre Dame came up empty.

The Irish defense rose to the occasion and got the ball right back by forcing a punt. Starting just inside BC territory, Allen gained 13 yards on two attempts before Clausen hit Tate in the left flat. Eagle cornerback Donnie Fletcher lunged to make the tackle but grabbed only a handful of air, and Tate took advantage by juking the safety and darting into the end zone. Suddenly, Notre Dame led 20-16 with 8:12 remaining.

Everyone who has watched the Irish in recent weeks knew the game was far from over, but Boston College could not score in its final possessions. McCarthy picked off his second pass of the day with 4:23 left, but the Eagles defense held serve to generate one last chance for Shinskie. An improbable fourth down completion to Gunnell moved the ball across midfield, and a pass interference penalty on the next play brought BC closer to the upset. Notre Dame stepped up the pressure on Shinskie, however, and his would-be Cinderella story imploded as Smith picked off a wounded duck to close the deal.

Let’s revisit the pre-game questions to determine how these items factored into the outcome:

Will the Irish have anything left in the tank after last week? The offense looked a bit sluggish and the line did not fire off the ball very well, but the changes on defense injected some life into that unit.

Can the Eagles offense finally play well on the road? As with their previous unsuccessful road trips, BC could not run the ball and it kept them from winning.

Will Notre Dame be able to protect Clausen without resorting to maximum protection packages? Clausen stuck to crisp, short passes but was pressured into several throwaways and a safety. Rudolph caught only one pass.

Will the Irish offensive line assert itself against this year’s Eagles front four? Allen had some nice runs but Notre Dame could not sustain the ground game.

Can Notre Dame’s special teams gain the upper hand in the battle for field position? No. Short punts killed the Irish, who spent the early part of the game deep in their own territory.

Will the shaky Irish secondary make Shinskie look like an All-American passer? Yes, but only until he woke up and realized he was not Matt Ryan. ND made Gunnell look like Jerry Rice, though.

Will Harris and company run around and through Notre Dame? Not at all, and this was the difference in the game along with the turnovers.

Notre Dame’s mindset to win its remaining games and end the regular season at 10-2 remains intact, but a few of the future matchups almost guarantee there is more drama to come. Fortunately, next week’s game against Washington State should bring fans and players a much needed respite from the six consecutive heart-stopping finishes that are undoubtedly turning many Irish domes like mine from golden to gray.