On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish took on Boise State at home, coming off two straight wins. This game marked the first meeting between the two teams. Here are four key moments that led to the win over the Broncos.
Notre Dame holds the Broncos in the first quarter
After getting the ball to kick off the game, the Irish were looking strong as they took the ball downfield seamlessly. All was going to plan for the offense until the final moments, when they stood at the Broncos’ one-yard line looking to score the first touchdown of the game. After a costly false start penalty pushed them back on third down, they got back within a yard of the end zone on fourth down. The Boise State defensive line, however, was able to push back junior running back Jeremiyah Love, causing a turnover on downs.
The Broncos took the ball back, but the Irish defense did not let them advance past their own 20-yard line. After forcing the Broncos to punt the ball away, Notre Dame found their way back down the field for the second time in the first quarter. Freshman quarterback CJ Carr hit senior wide receiver Will Pauling for the 19-yard touchdown pass to put the Irish ahead 6-0.
While the Broncos offense took the ball back again after a failed extra point attempt from the Irish, they were unable to find their way back down the field as the Irish defense again forced them to punt, leaving them scoreless in the first 15.
Broncos return the favor
While the majority of the second quarter was quiet as the ball went back and forth between the two teams, Boise State made its comeback late in the quarter. The Broncos strategically took the ball downfield to add on their first touchdown of the game. After getting down to the one-yard line, quarterback Maddux Madsen used a well-designed fake to waltz into the end zone untouched. With a successful extra point, the Broncos took the 7-6 lead over the Irish with 4:03 left to play in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter, Notre Dame would respond with a touchdown of their own, thanks to Love’s four-yard dash from in close. After a successful two-point conversion, the Irish found themselves ahead 14-7 going into halftime.
Notre Dame continues to keep Boise State quiet
Entering the third quarter, the Notre Dame defense managed to keep Boise State at bay despite their best efforts. This gave the Notre Dame offense a chance to keep the scoring going.
Midway through the third quarter, senior wide receiver Malachi Fields received a solid pass from Carr for a touchdown, or so he thought.
Minutes later, after the play was put under review, the pass was ruled as incomplete as the ball did come out of Fields’ hands as he hit the ground. There was a pass interference on the play, however, which advanced the ball 15 yards for the Irish.
Immediately following this incident, the team lined back up six yards from the end zone. The ball was snapped and Carr connected with Fields to make up for the previous play. The extra point from junior kicker Marcello Diomede put the Irish up 21-7, giving them some breathing room.
Jadarian Price adds on the final touchdown
In the fourth quarter, with 7:54 left to play, the stands watched in anticipation as they hoped to see Notre Dame score again. Junior running back Jadarian Price was determined to make that happen.
Carr dumped off the ball to Price, who weaved his way through the Boise State defense to run 52 yards into the end zone. This touchdown would put the Irish up 27-7. After a well-executed extra point from Diomede, they held a commanding 28-7 lead, which they would hold onto for the rest of the game, moving to 3-2 on the season. Head coach Marcus Freeman explained how the team made it happen in the post-game press conference.
“We were able to be more consistent. We were able to win more one-on-one battles,“ Freeman said.
The Irish will stay at home as they prepare to face off against NC State this coming Saturday, Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m.
