Notre Dame Escapes With Uninspiring Win Over Boston College: Instant Takeaways

Notre Dame moved to 6-2 on the year with a 25-10 win at Boston College Saturday, the sixth-straight victory by the Fighting Irish. It keeps Notre Dame alive in the College Football Playoff race, but if it was looking for style points, for the majority of Saturday, it was anything but for the Fighting Irish.

Yes, Notre Dame owned the total yardage for the game, but small things all over the field went poorly. As a result, this was a game a lot longer than it should have been, considering Boston College entered just 1-7 and winless against Power Four competition.

What did the game ultimately mean for Notre Dame?

For starters, there is a lot to clean up if this team hopes to make the College Football Playoff, let alone run in it. Here are the instant takeaways from Notre Dame's largely sleepy 25-10 victory over Boston College on Saturday.

Slow Start by Notre Dame

If style points are your thing, then Saturday did Notre Dame no favors. Listen, I was sleepy too after dealing with kids being loaded up on sugar following a Friday night of trick-or-treating, but the Notre Dame football team is a different story.

Notre Dame looked like it was sleepwalking the entire first half. Boston College was stacking the box against Jeremiyah Love, which led to a slow Saturday for the potential All-American running back. However, CJ Carr was again off just enough to not make a stacked defensive box of Boston College pay, and this stayed interesting far too long.

More Special Teams Blunders

Boy, if a Notre Dame game is going to come down to a needed last-second field goal for the Irish this season, things don't feel good about chances. A missed extra point by veteran Noah Brunette and another by Marcello Diomede. Add an end of half pushed field goal by Erik Schmidt that also amounted to points off the board and its beyond problematic.

Jordan Faison had a misplayed punt that, fortunately, didn't result in a turnover, but for a team that is built so much on having an advantage on special teams, the units performed well under par on Saturday.

Add in a fake punt that was stuffed short of the line to gain and it was among the worst nights I've ever seen Notre Dame have on special teams - and I lived through the Brian Kelly-Brian Polian era.

Jadarian Price's Bad Habit Shows Again

For the third time this season, Jadarian Price lost a fumble that cost Notre Dame. It appeared Price was going to have Notre Dame go up two scores in the second quarter, but a fumble near the goal line gave possession back to Boston College and allowed some belief of Boston College to stick around Alumni Field a bit longer, which is never good if you're traveling to take on a 1-7 squad.

Price had an uncharacteristic night, totaling just 12 rushing yards on nine carries, including his lost fumble.

CJ Carr's Biggest Throw of the Game

After getting a pair of first downs on its first drive of the second half, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr hit probably his most important throw of the game. With the lead down to just 12-10, Carr found tight end Eli Raridon for what wound up being 30 yards, and set up a Jeremiyah Love touchdown run, the seventh-straight game he's had one.

The touchdown moments later should have made it a nine-point game. Instead, the third missed kick by a third kicker kept it a one-score game, and it felt like that alone put more air into the lungs of Boston College.

It was that moment that my first fears of 1993 or 2002 repeating itself, in a lot more embarrassing fashion, entered my mind.

Adon Shuler's Massive Interception

Trailing 18-10, Boston College was driving early in the fourth quarter with a chance to possibly tie the game. That's when safety Adon Shuler actually turned the tide of the game, intercepting a Boston College pass just in front of the end zone. If only that would have happened against Miami back in Week 1?

That play set up a chance for Notre Dame's biggest star to make one of his biggest plays to date with the Fighting Irish.

Jeremiyah Love's Heisman Moment?