This past weekend, Notre Dame was able to scrape out a win against the now 1-8 Boston College Eagles. However, the team on the field didn’t look like the same one we’ve been watching all season. Although special teams left a lot to be desired, some argue that offense wasn’t at their best either. The game, played the day following Halloween, was quite a spooky one to watch.
Quarterback
Freshman CJ Carr was the lone quarterback for the Irish, which came at no surprise. What also wasn’t surprising was his inconsistency in the opening drives. On the first possession, Carr threw two incomplete passes and totaled only four yards, an inconsistency we’ve seen a couple of times this season. The next drive saw little improvement with two incompletions and little rhythm, explaining the no-score first quarter.
Despite the slow start, Carr found his groove in the second quarter. Eight seconds in, Carr was able to connect with senior wide receiver Malachi Fields for a 40-yard touchdown, finally putting Notre Dame on the board. From there, he was significantly more successful in the second quarter, finding senior wide receiver Will Pauling for the second touchdown of the game. Until halftime, Carr only had one no-gain play where he chose to spike the ball and stop the clock.
In their first possession in the third quarter, Carr handed the ball off to junior running back Jeremiyah Love, who powered through the defensive line and successfully scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown, extending the Irish lead. Boston College had possession until the end of the third quarter and early into the fourth quarter. Carr threw two incomplete passes, ironically mirroring how the game started.
Carr had 299 passing yards and was 18 for 25 on passes, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions. Carr’s offense showed moments of skill and others of novelty. His shaky accuracy improved after the first quarter, and his composure in a daunting, sold-out crowd of Alumni Stadium helped keep the Irish in the game. Missed opportunities and a lack of consistency prevented this from being a dominant win for Notre Dame.
Grade: “B+.”
Running backs
Despite Notre Dame’s low reliance on the rush game, only totaling 159 rushing yards as a team, Love led the Irish with 136 rushing yards. Love wasn’t able to find the end zone until late in the third quarter when he ran in for a short 3-yard touchdown, marking his 58th rushing yard of the game. In the fourth quarter, Love had his explosive 94-yard rushing touchdown that was a result of an Irish interception, stopping Boston College’s opportunity to tie the game.
Junior running back Jadarian Price had a slow game with only 12 yards and nine carries, being his worst performance of this year by a large margin. This marks the third time this season Price fumbled the ball, but in this game, he would’ve helped the Irish move up two scores in the second quarter. The ball was lost near the goal line and helped the Eagles gain some momentum to finish the half.
Grade: “A-.”
Wide receivers
Notre Dame relied heavily on the receiving game, and had three big performers throughout the day. The first touchdown of the game, which was 40 yards deep, was caught by Fields, who totaled 52 yards on the night. Fields was in a jumble of players: Pauling and two Eagles defenders. Despite this crowded mess, Pauling jumped and caught the ball around the 10-yard line, stumbling slightly after the catch, but able to cross the line into the end zone, securing the first score of the game. Pauling caught the second of the game toward the back half of the second quarter in a one-on-one situation near the 5-yard line, which gave him 44 of his 73 yards.
Junior Jordan Faison led with 82 receiving yards and four receptions, giving the wide receivers 299 total yards with the help of Love, Raridon and Price. Lewis Bond, Boston College’s strongest receiver, outperformed all Irish receivers with a 92-yard game. However, Notre Dame still had more yards since the Eagles only totaled 269 yards.
Grade: “A.”
Overall, Notre Dame’s offense was significantly more efficient than Boston College’s. However, how does it rank against one of its best away games this season against the Arkansas Razorbacks? Against the Eagles, the Irish had 22 first downs, compared to its 32 earlier in the year at Arkansas and their third down efficiency decreased from 6-10 against the Razorbacks to 3-10 this past weekend. Notre Dame only had 458 total yards (299 passing and 159 rushing) when visiting Alumni Stadium, compared to their 641 (431 passing and 210 rushing) in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Just comparing a couple of statistics from these two away games, there is a degradation in offensive efficiency and plays from the Irish, which leaves fans to question what the next games will look like against more challenging opponents.
After taking a comparison of Notre Dame’s away games into account, a “C+” would suit the overall performance of the offense.
