Jeremiyah Love’s pair of second-half touchdowns helped No. 12 Notre Dame hold off Boston College 25-10 for its sixth consecutive win on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The standout junior was limited to 40 yards on 11 carries before busting out for a 94-yard touchdown run with 11:07 remaining. Love (17 carries, 136 yards) also rushed for a 3-yard score in the third quarter to stop Boston College’s 10-point run that brought the host within 12-10.
Notre Dame (6-2) finished with a 458-281 advantage in total yards while gaining 8.3 yards per play.
Quarterback CJ Carr was 18-for-25 for 299 yards and tossed second-quarter touchdown passes to Malachi Fields and Will Pauling. Carr completed seven passes of 15 yards or longer.
After Dylan Lonergan drew the start, Grayson James entered at quarterback for Boston College (1-8) and went 25-for-37 for 240 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Notre Dame defense racked up three picks and 12 tackles for loss that included five sacks. Linebacker Drayk Bowen totaled a career-high 14 stops and added two tackles for loss with one sack.
Notre Dame had the ball for 10:18 in a scoreless first quarter before scoring on a fourth-and-6 play to begin the second. Carr aired out a 40-yard pass over the middle to Fields to cap a 10-play, 85-yard touchdown drive.
The teams’ subsequent three series resulted in turnovers. After Tae Johnson intercepted Lonergan, the Irish drove to the Boston College 5-yard line where a Jadarian Price fumble gave the ball back.
The hosts turned the ball over on downs after eating up 7:11 on a 14-play drive, allowing Notre Dame to add to its lead on Carr’s 44-yard toss to Pauling. The Irish lead was just 12-0 after a missed point-after and 2-point conversion on its initial two scoring drives.
James led the Eagles on a seven-play, 75-yard series in a 1:31 span before halftime to cut the deficit to 12-7. After spinning free to avoid a second straight sack, James connected with Lewis Bond twice and Jaedn Skeete on three straight 15-plus-yard passes. Two plays later, Reed Harris caught a 25-yarder in the left corner of the end zone for the touchdown.
Notre Dame’s Erik Schmidt missed a 35-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half.
Coming out of halftime, Boston College strung together a 21-play, 74-yard drive over 11:20. Three fourth-down conversions helped James along the way, but consecutive empty plays forced the Eagles to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Luca Lombardo that cut Notre Dame’s lead to 12-10.
Notre Dame responded with a much quicker scoring drive. Following four first downs in a five-play span, Love rushed for a 3-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in the third. Another missed point-after followed and the Irish led 18-10.
The fourth quarter featured a possible major swing. After the Irish appeared to recover a Skeete fumble for a touchdown, an official replay determined he had recovered his own miscue.
However, the drive ended eight plays later with Adon Shuler intercepting Lonergan’s deep ball. On the next snap, Love rushed down the left sideline for his 94-yard score that made him the first player in Notre Dame annals to deliver two 90-yard-plus touchdown runs.
–Field Level Media
