Catholic Conflict - Boston College

Notre Dame plays Boston College Saturday afternoon and there is no reason to think that the Irish will lose.  However there is a reason that games are played and no one say let’s just skip it because everyone thinks we’re going to lose.  At 3-7 the Eagles aren’t coming into South Bend as a big threat but after knocking off North Carolina State 14-10 last week and winning 2 of their last 3 (including a win over Notre Dames previous opponent Maryland) they are on as good of a roll as they can be this season.  Last year Notre Dame went into Alumni stadium and beat the Eagles 31-13, I doubt Boston College will fare any better coming into South Bend.

With all of that being said Boston College is a Division I ACC Conference team and deserves some respect.  Offensively 6’3” 212 lb sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig is having a decent year for a second year player on a 3-7 team.  On defense it starts and finishes with junior linebacker Luke Kuechly, who is considered as a mid first round pick if he were to enter this year’s draft.

Between injuries and not needed to keep starters on the field the whole game to win I except to see young guys and non-starters getting playing time again this weekend.

Robby Toma did a good job last week against Maryland covering for the injured Theo Riddick.  It was a good example of Brian Kelly’s “next man in philosophy”.  Robby had seven catches for 73 yards, both career highs.  Toma started against Army and USC last year due to injuries and will get an opportunity to crack the starting lineup on a regular basis next year in his senior season.

We will continue to see Freshman Stephon Tuitt who has gone in for Kapron Lewis-Moore.  Tuitt has played in eight games this season but has only started three.  Along with Super Freshman Lynch who has gone in for injured Ethan Johnson, Stephon can use this playing time to tune his skills for the future on the defensive line.

One position we will not see a lot of new faces is at running back.  Either Wood or Gray could be a standalone starting running back carrying for most teams.  Having them rotating on each series will keep them fresh and lessen the chance of injury.  George Atkinson III is seeing a little action at the end of games and that will probably continue this week.

These guys are following in the footsteps of last year’s “next man in” players; Tyler Eifert in for Kyle Rudolph and Tommy Rees for Dayne Christ.  Another thing to remember this is the last game some of these Irish players will ever have at Notre Dame Stadium.

Getting the job done.

Let’s go in reverse.  The Ugly; both teams’ uniforms.  I almost had a seizure when the teams took the field.  The Bad; Beating up on a 2-7 team may be expected but Maryland may be the best 2-7 team out there.  Notre Dame’s punt return is still a no threat with too many fair catches

There was a lot of good on Saturday night.  First off I am finally happy with Jonas Gray getting his first 100 yard rushing game (136 yards / 6.5 yards per carry) after being close several times this season.  It was however a pretty balanced scoring attack for the Irish.   Three rushing TD’s (by two running backs), two passing TD’s (by two receivers), an interception for a TD (57 yards) and a field goal (52 Yards).

The Irish offense looked good and the numbers support a good distribution of the ball.  Overall Notre Dame racked up 212 yards rushing with an average of 4.6 yards a carry, 296 yards passing with an average of 9.9 per completion.   Going 10 for 16 on third downs kept drives going and by going 1 for 1 on fourth down kept the Irish perfect on fourth down conversions.  In addition to Gray’s rushing Wood had 99 yards with a touchdown.  Tommy Rees utilized seven receivers for a total of 30 receptions and 296 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Defensively again the Irish shared the work load, Notre Dame had a total of 71 tackles by 26 different players, none of which had more than 6 themselves.  Lo Wood had a gift in the form of pass thrown directly to him which he proceeded to return for a touchdown.

The players and coaches should feel good and observe the 24 hour rule Kelly has instituted to morn a lose or celebrate a win move on to the next opponent.