Boston College No Frills Win

First, kudos to Boston College Quarterback Chase Rettig who was as good if not better than advertised and will be playing on Sundays in a couple of years.  A definite improvement on the prior week’s overall performance, but there are still a lot of concerns heading into the home stretch.   As Notre Dame pushed their way up the field and scored early in the game, I was surrounded by Irish fans cheering as if they had just won the Super Bowl and I was thinking to myself (and allowed to those around me) “don’t get too excited; this is what you’re supposed to do against a 2-7 team when you are 9-0. 

Let’s review some points of interest from a less than stellar, underwhelming and unimpressive 21-6 victory over Boston College.

Manti Te’o had a season low five tackles (but did record his sixth interception of the season).

Lost fumbles by both George Atkinson and Theo Riddick.

Eight penalties for 65 yards including one on a long Theo Riddick run, breaking momentum and spirits.

Icing on the cake was having DaVaris Daniels break his clavicle, putting him out of commission for the final two regular season games (although he is expected to be back for a bowl game).

On the bright side, Notre Dame capitalized on all three of its trips to the Red Zone and went an impressive 11-14 on third downs.  Prince Shembo had three sacks (ND had five total), four tackles for a loss (for a total of 29 yards) and a fumble recovery.

Sure, overall the Irish had a solid game statistically - if they weren’t laying a 2-7 team.  This does, however, seem to fit this Irish team very well, just win and they do.  Whether you say they are playing up or down to their opponents’ level or that great teams just find a way (anyway) to win, they are 10-0 and poised for more.

From a Boston College Perspective

Obviously, the players and coaches from Boston College will take the field Saturday night in what should be a win for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, but do they truly believe they can win or are they going to just go through the motions?  I submit that they will come out with fire in the belly and play with the intensity and spirit this game deserves because of the quality of the program and the young men that are drawn toward it.  However, what will they use for motivation and what will their coaches tell them to give them hope or winning?  It’s easy for fans to sit back and say that Boston College always plays Notre Dame tough and they will be up for this nationally televised primetime showdown, but players and coaches come at it from a different angle.  Passion, tradition and “the noise” can only go so far once you take the field.

Let’s start with facts, numbers and statistics.  At 2-7, the Eagles have nothing to lose and everything to gain, which makes them a dangerous opponent.  They have a quarterback that has a rating of 128.5 with 16 touchdowns and 2,556 yards on the season, and if there is a weakness or at least a less dominant area, it’s the Irish defensive backs.  Looking back on the last nine meetings, the Irish won the last three, but only by a total of six points and Boston College won six in a row before that.  I am sure that only one of these three figures actually means anything this Saturday night.

Realistically, the Eagles believe that the Irish are beatable, and Notre Dame came pretty close to proving that last week.  Much like any other Saturday, the keys to a win are winning the games in the game  - turnovers, penalties and mental mistakes.   Last week, Notre Dame had five penalties in the first quarter and lost the turnover battle 3-0.  This is something that Boston College can build from. 

Can Boston College beat Notre Dame?  Yes.  Will they?  No.  The Irish should come out with a chip on their shoulder from last week and dominate from the opening whistle to the final gun.  I just don’t think B.C. has enough bullets in the chamber to outlast the Irish.  The question is whether or not the Boston College players and coaches believe they have enough to win.

Let's try this again. Boston College

Again let’s give credit where credit is due.  Pittsburgh played very well and deserves the respect it earned on Saturday.  The Panthers had some very good players who carried out a sensational game plan against the Irish and almost dashed the dreams of millions of Notre Dame fans.  Although we all know how fired up the Boston College Eagles get to play their Catholic Kin, the Fighting Irish (this year getting to play in prime time), there is no way in Hades that we’ll see a repeat performance of last week this Saturday night.

We can respect Boston College all we want as an institution, but as a football team they are horrendous (this year at least), at 2-7 with their only wins this season coming against a 3-6 Maine team from the CAA and a three-point win over a Maryland team which is now using a linebacker at starting quarterback.  The Fighting Irish may not be as perfect as their record, but do not mistake their flaws on Saturday for weakness in character and pride.  I have a feeling that the Irish will be looking to save face and send a message to the college football world this Saturday night.

Boston College’s numbers tell the story of a team not only having a tough year, but hoping the season or at least Saturday night is over as soon as possible.  The Eagles are ranked 122^nd in rushing, averaging 74.7 yards per game and will have to match up against Notre Dame’s front seven run defense, who, by the way, are ranked second in points allowed (at 11.7 per game), while Boston College’s offense ranks 98^th (at 22.1 points a game).

Notre Dame’s offense may not be the Oregon Ducks, but it does not need to be against the Eagles.   The Irish have been solidifying themselves on the offensive side of the stat sheet and that trend should continue this weekend.  Boston College is ranked 87^th in points allowed, giving up 30.9 points a game which would match up well against Notre Dame’s 72^nd ranking at 26.7 points a game, except what you look at the body of work those numbers came from. 

Now, it’s not all bad news for the Eagles, as they do have a bright spot at quarterback in junior Chase Rettig.  The third year quarterback is having his best season, passing for 2556 yards with 16 touchdowns and a 128.5 quarterback rating.  The running game is led by Andre Williams, a junior with 584 yards and four touchdowns, not exactly a dominant rushing attack.  The Irish defense should be able to key in on Boston College's limited weapons and shut them down.

I will sleep well Friday night with the confidence that her loyal sons will not only march on to victory but do so in a manner that confirms they are a BCS team, a top five team and a candidate for the National Championship.

What happened!?!?

Before we say anything else, let’s give a ton of credit to the Pitt Panthers on a great game.  They have a lot of great players who played a great game.  Looking at the stat sheet Sunday morning, there were numbers that would lead someone to believe that the Irish won this game and won this game overwhelmingly. Rushing first downs: ND 34 / Pitt 13, Net yards rushing: ND 231 / Pitt 144, Net yards passing: ND 291 / Pitt 164, Offensive plays: ND 104 / Pitt 62, Time of possession: ND 35:23 / Pitt 24:37, Third down conversions: ND 10-20 / Pitt 1-14, Sacks: ND 5 / Pitt 1.

Then there were the numbers I saw that brought me back to earth and defined why the game could have gone the other way.  Average yards per rush: ND 4.5 / Pitt 4.4, ND had one lost fumble and was intercepted twice, and the Irish also had five penalties in the first quarter.

It is often said that you can learn more from losing than you can from a win, and while I don’t buy that for a second, what is true in this case is that there are things you can only learn from losing.  There is much for the team as a whole (and the parts that make that whole) to improve on from what we learned from this game, which was as close to a loss as you can have without a mark in the L column.

Things that I’m hoping we learned include how to face true adversity and get through it.  Most of the negatives experienced during the game can be viewed as opportunities for improvement and growth.   Mike Golic is still missing blocks and I fear that our backups on the O-line are no better or Kelly would have made a move by now.  The Irish were the Irish of old Saturday as it pertained to penalties, turnovers, poor tackling, some sloppy plays including a missed extra point, all of which of which are correctable.

The game ball was given to Golson…perhaps Notre Dame’s quarterback of the future is here today.

What will keep you up Friday night?

The Irish should beat Pittsburgh handily and without incident.  However. there is a reason they play the game.

Every team gets up to play Notre Dame and the Pitt Panthers are no exception.

Pittsburgh senior quarterback Tino Sunseri, who has not thrown an interception since September 15, has 143 pass attempts with a 69.2 completion percentage.   Sunseri has thrown only two interceptions all season with 13 touchdowns.

Ray Graham has decent numbers this season - seven touchdowns with 622 yards on 162 carries for a 4.6 yards per carry average.  What will keep you up is when you discover that Graham has 4,427 career all-purpose yards, second in Pitt history to Tony Dorsett, despite missing four games last season due to an injury.

Defensive back Andrew Taglianetti has 19 tackles this season.  Below standard perhaps, but what will keep you up are his six career punt blocks.

Turnovers - Pittsburgh is 3-0 this season when forcing at least two turnovers.

Street and Shanahan - the Panthers’ leading receivers averaging 13.9 and 17.1 yards a catch, respectively.

Momentum - half of Pittsburgh’s wins have come in the last two games.

Boston College 1993 and 2002

Pittsburgh is scary

How does this team lose to Youngstown State and Syracuse then beat teams like (#13 at the time) Virginia Tech?  With their other three wins being against 3-4 Temple, 1-7 Buffalo and 2-6 Gardner-Webb, you can’t be over-intimidated by that resume.   So why are they scary?  Who knows what could happen with a team all over the place? And coupling that with a team with nothing to lose makes for a dangerous scenario.

Realistically, let’s face it, the Irish should win this game and win it convincingly.  Offensively, Pitt is fair at best.  Averaging just over 281 yards passing per game (ranking them 32^nd nationally) and being led by an experienced senior quarterback, the passing game should not be a huge issue for the Irish defense.  The rushing game offers even less of a threat, averaging just over 150 yards (ranking them 77^th in the nation).  Add to that game and against Notre Dame’s front seven, and those numbers  should only get worse for the Panthers.  The offense as a whole is averaging 29 points a game (ranking them 60th nationally).

Pittsburgh is a little more solid on defense, allowing 21.8 points a game (ranking them 33^rd nationally), but let’s keep that in perspective by looking at the teams they have played.  I suspect the Irish running game should do well this Saturday.  The offensive line is too big and strong and the backs are just too good.

Pittsburgh is the type of team which, when you look at the surface, just doesn’t make sense and you often fear what you don’t understand.  For example, for the season as a whole Pittsburgh has won the scoring battle in every quarter but the third, where they have been outscored 59-37.  Most teams who outscore their opponents three out of four quarters are better than 4-4.

Ok, now what?

I hate to do it, but Irish faithful we need to start looking at the big picture.  Make no mistake about it, the most important game of the season right now is the next game, against Pittsburgh.  We know our schedule and what that means, so let’s take a look at some of the other teams jockeying for position and what they are looking at as the season makes the turn toward the home stretch.

Alabama

#5 LSU (7-1)

#16 Texas A&M (6-2)

Western Carolina (1-8)

Auburn (1-7)

I can’t argue with the Tide’s number one ranking.  If I was a betting man, I would pick Alabama to go undefeated and stay atop the polls.  However, with two ranked teams and heading to Baton Rouge this weekend, they do have a couple of hurdles that could trip them up.  If they get past LSU and Texas A&M they have Western Carolina (how did this team ever get on their schedule?) and Auburn who is having an awful year just two seasons removed from winning the National Championship.  The final hurdle would come up in the SEC title game, but really no matter who their opponent may be I still like the Tide being #1 at the end of the regular season.  I almost would rather end up undefeated, be bumped out of the  National Championship game and win another BCS Bowl game to go 13-0 then lose to Alabama and finish 12-1.  On the other hand, the Tide have only played two ranked teams (one being #8 at the time, Michigan 5-3) so they may be a little overrated.

Kansas State

#24 Oklahoma State (5-2)

TCU (5-3)

Baylor (3-4)

#23 Texas (6-2)

The Wildcats are doing their best Oregon Duck imitation putting up a lot of points (ranked 5^th), averaging 44 points per game making them a hot pick to make the championship game.  With wins over three ranked teams, Kansas State has a solid claim to the number two spot.  They have two more games against ranked teams and three games against teams with winning records.  Although it’s unlikely, there are several opportunities for Kansas State to trip up.  The Big 12 does not have a conference championship, so if they can get through the regular season undefeated, I think the Wildcats will have a stronghold on the #2 spot.

Oregon

#17 USC (6-2)

California (3-6)

#14 Stanford (6-2)

#11 Oregon State (6-1)

The Ducks are ranked fourth in the BCS and second in the AP and obviously the BCS is still what counts.  Once again, Oregon is an offensive machine averaging 53.4 points a game, which is good enough for first overall in the nation and rushing for 330.6 yards a game, putting them third in the nation in that category.  However, it may be their schedule that ultimately does them in.  Opponents such as Arkansas State from the Sun Belt Conference, Tennessee Tech, a 2-6 Washington State, and a 1-7 Colorado, the Ducks’ big wins don’t look all that impressive.  To finish the season undefeated, Oregon needs to beat a 17^th ranked USC team with something to prove after last week’s loss to Arizona, a 14^th ranked Stanford team and an in-state rival game against 11^th ranked Oregon State.  If the Ducks get through that gauntlet, they will have to get a win in the PAC 12 championship game to stay undefeated.