Complete dominance carries Notre Dame to a 44-0 win over Boston College
A quick start, a complete performance, and a dominating first half in every phase of the game allowed Notre Dame to cruise to a 44-0 win over Boston College Saturday at a snowy, cold and windy Notre Dame Stadium.
This game was never in doubt after the Irish built a 17-0 lead after one quarter and a 37-0 advantage at halftime.
It was the fifth straight wire-to-wire win for Notre Dame.
In fact, the Irish haven’t trailed in a game since the 16-14 final score in the loss to Stanford on Oct. 15.
Notre Dame scored on each of its first eight offensive possessions — 5 touchdowns and 3 field goals — and never broke a sweat on this chilly day.
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“They’re resilient,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman told NBC immediately after the game. “This university attracts resilient people that no matter what the outcome or situation occurs, they’ll continue to battle.”
Notre Dame opened the scoring with a 6-play, 67-yard drive that Irish graduate placekicker Blake Grupe capped with a 26-yard field goal on Notre Dame’s first possession.
The lead quickly swelled to 10-0 when on BC’s first offensive possession, Irish freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison intercepted Eagles redshirt freshman quarterback Emmett Morehead on its first offensive possession.
Five plays later — all rushing attempts by Irish sophomore tailback Logan Diggs — and Notre Dame quickly extended its lead to 10-0 less than five minutes into the game.
It was lights out from there as the Irish coaches were able to empty the bench and let the seniors savor the moment during their last home game at the stadium.
Game leaders
As far as offensive game leaders for Notre Dame:
*Junior tight end Michael Mayer had 5 receptions for 64 yards, and went over the 2,000-yard career receiving mark in the process.
*Sophomore running back Logan Diggs had 122 rushing yards on 15 carries with 1 touchdown and an 8.1 per-rush average.
*Junior quarterback Drew Pyne went 13-of-25 passing for 156 yards with 1 touchdown.
Defensively, Morrison stole the show with his three interceptions.
The superlatives in this game are many in the fifth-straight game that Notre Dame never trailed.
Most of those came in the first half when Notre Dame took a 37-0 lead, out-gained BC 336-81 in total yardage, 214-1 in rushing yardage and won the turnover battle 4-0 in the first and second quarters.
The Irish parlayed those takeaways into 20 points.
Taking things out to four quarters, Notre Dame held BC to 173 total yards, 56 rushing yards and 117 passing yards, which were all season-best defensive totals for the Irish’s defense this season. The win marked Notre Dame’s 28th straight regular-season win over ACC opponents, a streak that dates back to 2017.
And in this topsy-turvy series with the Eagles, this was also the ninth straight win for the Irish against Boston College.
This streak came after Boston College won six straight in the series from 2001-08
