Ian Book Leads Irish Past Boston College, Head into Bye Week Undefeated
The storyline going into the game Saturday night was how the current quarterback of Boston College, Phil Jurkovec, played behind Ian Book the last two seasons and how he wanted to go out and beat his own team. As much as the ESPN broadcast wanted to keep that storyline going during the whole game, Ian Book stole the show. Book made sure everyone who watched the game knew why there was no competition in South Bend the last two seasons. There is nothing wrong with Jurkovec leaving Notre Dame because he wanted to see the field, but the notion that he was the better QB on the Irish roster is laughable. Book went 20 of 27 for 283 yards and 3 touchdown passes while adding 85 yards on the ground with 1 score. Jurkovec went 18 of 40 for 272 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception (could have had 3, one was dropped and the other called back due to a Notre Dame penalty).
I’ll give credit to Jurkovec and the Eagles, they kept things close in the first quarter – but then the Irish blew the game wide open in the 2nd, scoring 21 points and going into half up 31 to 16. Notre Dame kept Boston College at bay, holding the Eagles to 2 second-half touchdowns. The Irish out-gained the Eagles, 557 to 357 yards and held them to less than 100 yards rushing as a team. Notre Dame rushed for 283 yards as a team, C’Bo Flemister got the game ball after scoring two big touchdowns. Notre Dame (8-0) avoids the upset in a big trap game and leaves Boston College (5-4) undefeated after a 45-31 win.
These are the 4 Irish the stood out the most Saturday:
- Ian Book – The 3-year starter kept the ball rolling on a great season; Book accounted for 368 yards of total offense for the Irish. We all knew what this game was, Book vs his former backup and who would have the better game. I think it is easy to see why Book kept his job the last two seasons when Jurkovec was on the roster – he is the better QB.
- Ben Skowronek- In my game preview post, I talked about how I was looking for a couple of the wide receivers to step up, and Skowronek was one of them I mentioned. With 3 first half touchdowns, it is safe to say that the Northwestern grad transfer stepped up. Skowronek ended the night with 5 catches for 63 yards and the 3 touchdowns.
- Shawn Crawford – The senior captain led the team with 9 total tackles, 5 of which were solo, and one huge sack. The defense had their hands full with the Boston College offense, but Crawford kept the Eagles’ passing game in check. They kept pressure on Jurkovec, letting him complete less than half of his 40 pass attempts.
- Jack Kiser – The Irish linebacker hauled in the only interception on Saturday. Kiser picked off the Jurkovec pass at the perfect time, right after the Irish turned the ball over on a Skowronek fumble in the 2nd quarter. The Indiana native had a solid game, ending with 3 solo tackles, 1 tackle for loss and the one interception.
It was an all around solid performance from the Irish that we have become accustomed too. History may have haunted us Irish fans, and the fact that this had trap game written all over it – but Brian Kelly has got his guys ready for games like these, and they no longer lose to teams that they are much more talented than. You couldn’t have asked for a better 8 games from this team. Notre Dame may have started the season slow, but can you blame them with everything going on with Covid19 and their season being up in the air? They have played lights-on in the last 3 games and that’s all that matters. They go into the bye week riding high and playing great; the Irish need to rest, get guys healthy and get ready for the next game Vs North Carolina on November 27th.