Notre Dame blows out Boston College: Instant takeaways
If you were to script a perfect senior day for a team, not in national championship contention, it would go exactly as things went at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. Sure, Boston College isn’t really close to being the most-hated rival of the Fighting Irish but they’re a pesky one that has caused quite a bit of heartbreak over the years.
This game was an embarrassment of riches for the Irish who now turn their heads to Thanksgiving weekend in Los Angeles where they’ll try to ruin USC’s College Football Playoff dreams. We’ll get to that game next week and have extensive cross-polination\ with Trojans Wire, but we’ll celebrate today in a big way for now.
Here are a variety of instant takeaways and thoughts from Notre Dame’s domination of Boston College on Saturday afternoon.
Fast start
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Forget for a second who the opponent was. This is a Notre Dame team that lost at home to college football struggle buses Marshall and Stanford both this year. Slow starts didn’t help in either of those games and have been an issue all year.
Notre Dame marched down the field before settling for a field goal on their opening possession. Then it was an interception by the defense setting up a touchdown on the short field. Then it was an 81-yard touchdown drive after another quick stop on defense.
You catch the drift, it was a fast start for the second week in a row, something that has been foreign for Notre Dame this season.
Brandon Morrison Show
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Going back to the movie theme from the start, perhaps the only ill-scripted part of Saturday’s senior day blowout was the fact a true freshman stole the show. [autotag]Brandon Morrison[/autotag] has been improving week by week and put any hope of a Clemson comeback on the shelf two weeks ago. All he did on Saturday was intercept three passes, two of which came in the first half.
He’s picked up five passes this year, all this month. It feels like earning freshman All-American honors has become a gimme at this point for the rising talent. His three interceptions were the most by a Notre Dame player since Harrison Smith picked off three in the 2010 Sun Bowl – which was also played in the snow.
All Systems Go on Freeman Era
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After falling to Marshall and 0-3 as a head coach there was concern about what Notre Dame would ultimately become under Marcus Freeman. All the Irish have done since is go 8-1 (yeah the Stanford loss still stings) and look the part of a top 10 team nationally.
They almost certainly won’t get there because of their September but there is improvement all over the field for Notre Dame in 2022. The offensive line is a road-grading unit. The backfield is loaded. As much grief as Tommy Rees gets he has managed to make this offense work with a backup quarterback who clearly possesses a limited skillset.
This is the least amount of talent Marcus Freeman will have on a team at Notre Dame for hopefully some time, if not ever. Get ready, the fun is just getting started.
Record setting Isaiah Foskey
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As part of Saturday’s nearly perfect script, [autotag]Isaiah Foskey[/autotag] closed the first half in perfect fashion. His sack on the last play of the first half made him Notre Dame’s all-time career sacks leader, passing Justin Tuck’s previous mark.
There is a ton of talent returning next year and in the foreseeable future but that’s a talent that will certainly be missed. However, before you go, how about extending that record a bit at Southern Cal!
Non-senior sendoff
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Although it was senior day that doesn’t mean it was just seniors playing their final games at Notre Dame Stadium. Unless something entirely unforeseen happens, [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] played his final collegiate home game Saturday. He’s bound to be a first-round pick after a record-setting career at Notre Dame.
Mayer didn’t find the end zone Saturday but did haul in five receptions for 64 yards and in doing so passed the 2,000 yard mark in career receiving yards. He’s just the 13th player in Notre Dame history to reach 2,000 yards.
Notre Dame remains perfect at home in the snow
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Another part of the perfect script was the timely snowstorm that blasted the campus right after halftime. Snow angels by the marching band, snowmen built by the cheerleaders, and photos that will be reviewed years from now only made things sweeter.
What’s also sweet? That whenever it snows at Notre Dame Stadium historically, the Irish win. They’re 6-0 all-time at Notre Dame Stadium in snow games now according to Notre Dame Football PR.
In Notre Dame Stadium (since 1930) the Irish are 5-0 in snow games – 9-7 vs. Navy 1937, 40-12 vs. Southern Cal 1957, 48-0 vs. Army 1974, 17-16 vs. Penn State 1992 and 23-13 vs. BYU in 2013.
— Notre Dame Football PR Team (@NDFootballPR) November 18, 2022
