Keys To Victory For Notre Dame Against Boston College
Notre Dame (7-0) will look to continue its winning ways later this afternoon when it takes on the Boston College Eagles (5-3).
The Irish dominate the on paper and talent matchup, but the final piece to victory is execution of a strong game plan. Before the game starts, let’s look at the keys to victory for the Notre Dame offense and defense.
NOTRE DAME OFFENSE
1. Start Fast — Boston College is going to come into this contest with a great deal of confidence and fire. It is their “red bandana” game, and their energy level will be through the roof. The worst thing Notre Dame can do is allow the Eagles to get deep into the game thinking it can actually pull off this upset. Notre Dame simply cannot afford to allow the Eagles to enter the fourth quarter believing it can win.
The Irish offense needs to put this game away quickly with a fast start. It doesn’t really matter how it happens (big plays, long drives, run or pass), the key is putting points on the board early and often.
On the flip side, if the BC offense does to the Irish defense what it did to the Clemson defense it will be imperative that quarterback Ian Book and the Notre Dame offense answer those scores with scores of their own.
2. Clean Up Red Zone Issues — I expect Notre Dame to move the ball effectively against the tough but relatively un-athletic BC defense. Unlike past games, however, the Irish offense needs to finish drives off with touchdowns instead of field goals.
Improving its red zone offense would not only play a key role in a victory over Boston College, it would hopefully give the Irish offense the red zone momentum it needs to start playing championship caliber offense.
3. No Steps Back — Against Clemson, the Irish offense showed it has the tools to be a championship caliber offense, but it must become a more consistent unit. Not just within games, but from week to week. The Irish cannot afford to take a step back on offense, which means not losing the aggressiveness we saw against the Tigers, quarterback Ian Book not losing his aggressiveness and the Irish continuing to be strong where it has been strong (run game, third-down offense, no turnovers).
NOTRE DAME DEFENSE
1. Harass Jurkovec — Beating Boston College means stopping quarterback Phil Jurkovec. BC goes as he goes, so the key for the Irish defense is getting after him early and never letting the talented young quarterback get into a rhythm.
There are several keys to carrying this out. Notre Dame must make BC one-dimensional by shutting down the run game. It must harass Jurkovec by getting early pressures on him and not letting him get comfortable enough in the pocket to rip off deep shots. It must keep Jurkovec guessing pre and post-snap by mixing up its looks, where it brings pressures from and disguising coverages.
If Notre Dame can keep the BC yards per pass attempt down, get consistent hits on Jurkovec and keep him guessing it will dominate this matchup.
2. Limit Big Plays — Boston College makes a living off big plays in the pass game, and Notre Dame has been vulnerable in that department at times this season. If Notre Dame can keep Boston College from ripping off downfield shots in the pass game and limit Jurkovec’s ability to make big plays outside of the pocket, the Eagles will have little chance to stay in this game.
The reality is Boston College is just not good enough to consistently move the ball up and down the field against Notre Dame, and without big plays this contest likely will not be competitive.
3. Win On Third-Down — A part of limiting the big plays is getting Boston College into third-downs, and then getting off the field in those instances. When Boston College is rolling it thrives on third-down, which gives the offense more opportunities to rip off big plays. Getting BC out of rhythm, and forcing early stops will play a big part in Notre Dame controlling this matchup.
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