Boston College Falls to No. 2 Notre Dame, 45-31

Read Time:3 Minute, 17 Second

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Boston College dropped a 45-31 decision at home to No. 2 Notre Dame at Alumni Stadium this afternoon in the annual Red Bandanna game.

Phil Jurkovec was 18-of-40 on the day, throwing for 272 yards including two touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore also rushed seven times for 34 yards. Jaelen Gill caught five passes for 105 yards, including a long reception of 40 yards. CJ Lewis made four grabs for 59 yards and a touchdown, while CJ Lewis made three catches for 60 yards. Zay Flowers caught three passes for 25 yards and a TD. Six different BC players caught a pass.

Travis Levy rushed nine times for 51 yards and caught two passes for 11 yards. David Bailey carried the ball seven times for 21 yards.

The Eagles’ defense held Notre Dame to a field goal on the opening drive, stuffing the Irish three times on 1st-and-goal.

BC marched down the field on its opening drive and found the end zone, as Jurkovec linked up with Flowers on a four-yard route. The 10-play, 80-yard drive made it, 7-3, Eagles with 5:03 left in the opening quarter.

Brandon Barlow recovered a Notre Dame fumble deep in Irish territory and BC took advantage. Aaron Boumerhi connected from 41 yards out to extend the Eagles’ lead to 10-3 with 3:56 to go. Notre Dame tied it at 10-10 near the end of the opening quarter, covering 77 yards on eight plays.

Another boot from Boumerhi – this time from 31 yards out – gave BC a 13-10 edge with 12:41 left. On the kickoff, the Eagles attempted an onside kick, with Josh DeBerry coming up with the ball. But on the review, officials announced a blocking penalty on BC and the Eagles were forced to re-kick. Notre Dame regained the lead – 17-13 – on the free possession and pushed their lead to 24-13 with 5:43 left in the half.

Boumerhi’s 35-yarder with 3:17 left in the half made it 24-16 before Boston College forced and recovered a fumble in Irish territory. The Irish returned the favor, securing an errant snap just across the 50-yard line, and converting it into another TD at the end of the half, making it 30-16 at intermission.

In the third quarter, both teams engineered takeaways. First, for the Eagles, DeBerry forced a fumble at the BC 40 yard line that was recovered by Max Richardson. But on the ensuing offensive possession, Jurkovec threw an interception just over the line of scrimmage, which Notre Dame converted into another touchdown, giving it a 38-16 lead with 6:34 to go in the third.

David Bailey found the endzone from three yards out in the final minute of the third, making it 38-22, capping a 12-play, 80-yard drive. But Notre Dame responded on its next drive, pushing its lead back to 45-23.

Hunter Long’s eight-yard touchdown grab with 4:09 to play, combined with Levy’s successful rush for the two-point conversion made it a two-score game, at 45-31.

Defensively, Isaiah McDuffie logged a career-best 16 tackles, including eight solo stops. Deon Jones had 11 tackles (eight solo) and Max Richardson had six tackles (two solo) and a fumble recovery. The Eagles forced three Irish turnovers.

Boston College gained 357 yards on the day (272-passing; 85-rushing), gaining 22 first downs. The Eagles were 4-of-11 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down. BC scored six times in seven trips to the red zone.

With the loss, Boston College falls to 5-4 overall and 4-4 in ACC play. BC enters its bye week and returns to action on Nov. 27 in the final regular-season home game of the 2020 season, hosting Louisville on ACC Network at noon.