SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Ian Book threw three touchdown passes and No. 15 Notre Dame corralled Boston College star running back AJ Dillon in a 40-7 victory Saturday.
The fourth straight victory by the Fighting Irish (9-2, No. 15 CFP) completed their second straight unbeaten season (7-0) at Notre Dame Stadium, where they have won 18 straight. But for the second straight week, the stadium was not filled after a streak of 273 sellouts since 1973.
The announced crowd of 71,827 was 5,795 short of capacity.
“We controlled the line of scrimmage,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said. “We were a little uneven early on. To go undefeated at home two years in a row says everything about what these seniors mean to this program.”
A total of 29 players, some with eligibility remaining, were introduced before the final home game. The group is 31-6 in three seasons since a 4-8 freshman year in 2016.
One of the players taking a pre-game bow was Book, who could return next fall after not playing his freshman campaign. He now has 29 touchdown passes for the season, 14 in the four-game winning streak.
“We’ll see,” Book said when asked if it was going to be his final home game. “You never know what can happen.”
Leading 16-7 at halftime thanks to Jonathan Doerer’s field goals of 47, 20 and 45 yards, the Irish scored 17 points in the third quarter to bury the Eagles (5-6).
“I felt great about it at halftime but we just had a poor third quarter,” said B.C. coach Steve Addazio, who was an assistant under former Irish coach Bob Davie. “I think it was an execution letdown. We did not execute in the third quarter.”
Book’s second touchdown pass, an 11-yarder to Cole Kmet, followed a fumble recovery by linebacker Drew White. On Notre Dame’s next possession, wideout Braden Lenzy zipped 61 yards on a jet sweep to put the Irish in command, 33-7.
Book completed 26 of 40 passes for 239 yards and led the Irish with 66 yards on 12 carries. He connected with Chase Claypool on a 6-yard TD in the second quarter and Chris Finke for a 6-yard score in the final quarter that was set up by freshman safety Kyle Hamilton’s team-leading fourth interception.
Boston College’s only touchdown came in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by quarterback Dennis Grosel, who managed just 63 yards on 9-of-20 passing and was sacked four times by the Irish, twice by defensive end Adetokunbo Ogundeji.
THE TAKEAWAY
Boston College: The Eagles were fifth in the nation in rushing at 282.2 yards a game coming in, but were held to 128. Dillon, a 250-pound junior who had 1,451 yards entering the game, was held to 56 yards on 14 carries. The 16-play, 84-yard scoring drive leading to Grosel’s TD that took 6:52 off the second-quarter clock and temporarily provided a 7-6 lead was the highlight of a long day for the Eagles, who had 191 total yards, 292.7 under their average coming into the game.
Notre Dame: The Irish scored on four of five first-half possessions, but four offensive line penalties, including three on false starts, bogged down the drives and forced field goals. Book and the Irish heated up in the second half, finishing with 501 total yards, 252 on the ground and 249 through the air. It was their third game of the season over 500 yards.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Notre Dame: The Irish probably won’t make any significant move up from No. 15.
UP NEXT
Boston College: Closes the regular season at ACC rival Pittsburgh in need of a victory to become bowl eligible.
Notre Dame: Seeks a third straight 10-victory season Saturday at Stanford.
Notre Dame stats
Boston College 0 7 0 0 = 7
Notre Dame 3 13 17 7 = 40
First Quarter
ND—FG Doerer 47, 11:11.
Second Quarter
ND—FG Doerer 29, 14:52.
BC—Grosel 1 run (Boumerhi kick), 7:56.
ND—Claypool 6 pass from Book (Doerer kick), 2:48.
ND—FG Doerer 45, :01.
Third Quarter
ND—FG Doerer 37, 7:03.
ND—Kmet 11 pass from Book (Doerer kick), 3:44.
ND—Lenzy 61 run (Doerer kick), 1:44.
Fourth Quarter
ND—Finke 6 pass from Book (Doerer kick), 11:31.
A—71,827.
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BC ND
First downs 11 27
Rushes-yards 43-128 44-252
Passing 63 249
Comp-Att-Int 9-21-1 27-41-0
Return Yards 57 70
Punts-Avg. 8-44.6 4-33.8
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 2-25 8-54
Time of Possession 25:04 34:56
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Boston College, Dillon 14-56, Grosel 13-45, Bailey 10-26, Levy 5-5, Flowers 1-(minus 4). Notre Dame, Book 12-66, Lenzy 1-61, T.Jones 15-61, Jurkovec 5-42, Assaf 2-11, Flemister 5-10, Henry 1-1, J.Smith 3-0.
PASSING—Boston College, Grosel 9-20-1-63, Valecce 0-1-0-0. Notre Dame, Book 26-40-0-239, Jurkovec 1-1-0-10.
RECEIVING—Boston College, K.White 3-29, Long 3-17, Dillon 1-14, Flowers 1-2, Bailey 1-1. Notre Dame, Kmet 7-78, Finke 7-71, Claypool 7-60, Tremble 2-13, Keys 2-11, Takacs 1-10, T.Jones 1-6.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.