Notre Dame 21, Boston College 6
BOSTON -- Not this time.
Twice in the last 20 years, Boston College ended the national-title hopes of rival Notre Dame. But Saturday night, the No. 4 Fighting Irish did what they had to do, dismantling the Eagles and cruising to a 21-6 victory.
Notre Dame improved to 10-0 for the first time since 1993, the first year the Eagles spoiled things for the Irish. It happened again in 2002. But those BC teams were both bowl-bound. The Eagles are 2-8 this year, putting Frank Spaziani's job in jeopardy.
The Irish are going to need help to get to the BCS title game, and they got some Saturday when No. 1 Alabama lost. But Notre Dame, which hosts Wake Forest and visits USC in its last two regular-season games, still needs more assistance.
Everett Golson threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score in a superb performance that gave the Irish their fourth straight win over BC in the rivalry between college football's only two Football Bowl Subdivision Catholic schools.
BC, which came into the game tied for 118th in the country in third-down conversion defense, yielded conversions on Notre Dame's first 10 tries before a third-quarter stop.
Golson finished 16-for-24 for 200 yards passing and also netted 39 yards on the ground. Notre Dame's Theo Riddick ran for 104 yards, and tight end Tyler Eifert caught six passes for 67 yards.
BC quarterback Chase Rettig was 27-for-43 for 247 yards and interception and fumble lost. He has six turnovers in the last two games, both losses.
BC wide receiver Alex Amidon caught six passes, breaking the program's single-season record for receiving yards in a season.
A punt and a penalty pinned the Irish back on their own 5-yard line on their first possession, but Golson took his team 95 yards on 13 plays, scoring from 2 yards out by carrying linebacker Nick Clancy into the end zone with him. Clancy soon left the game with an upper body injury.
On the drive, Notre Dame had four plays of 11 yards or more, including a 23-yard pass from Golson to Riddick. There was also a 14-yard pass to TJ Jones.
BC came back with a long march of its own, Rettig taking the Eagles from their own 12 to the Notre Dame 11. The drive stalled, and Rettig was sacked back at the 19 as the first quarter ended. Nate Freese kicked a 36-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, and it was 7-3 in Notre Dame's favor.
The Irish, who lost the ball on a George Atkinson III fumble at the BC 26 earlier in the second quarter, closed the half with an 87-yard drive that chewed up 8:30 of the final 8:56 on the clock. They converted four third downs (8-for-8 in the half), and Golson ended the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Troy Niklas, his first career touchdown catch.
NOTES: Notre Dame came in 5-0 in games decided by seven points or fewer, two of them decided in overtime. ... BC guard Ian White missed the game with an ankle injury, the first time this season the Eagles started anyone but the original five offensive linemen. On the other side of the ball, BC has had nine different players start games. Notre Dame came in ranked in the top 20 in eight of the 20 FB defensive categories. ... BC hosts Virginia next week. ... Rolandan Finch, who had been BC's No. 1 runner but had fumble-itis and had been benched since the third game, was back in action. ... Temperature in the area fell from the mid-50s in the afternoon to 40 at game time. ... BC's national-champion hockey team, which beat Notre Dame 3-1 Friday night, was on the sideline in the first quarter and was introduced during the game.