CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Irish initiated the scoring in their 21-6 victory over Boston College on Saturday with a 95-yard touchdown drive in the opening half of the first quarter. The drive, which lasted 13 plays and spanned 5:39, was the longest Notre Dame touchdown drive of the season. The Irish last recorded a touchdown drive of over 95 yards in the 2011 season opener against South Florida, when they drove 99 yards for a touchdown in the waning seconds of a 23-20 loss.
The Irish followed up that drive with an 87-yard drive in the final minutes of the second quarter. The drive culminated in a seven-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Everett Golson to sophomore tight end Troy Niklas. In total, Notre Dame possessed the ball for 12:27 of the second quarter and extended its lead to 14-3 in the period. Spanning the Pittsburgh game and the first half of Saturday's win, Notre Dame had five out of six scoring drives take 11 plays or more.
Moving the chains
Notre Dame senior tight end Tyler Eifert helped Golson move the chains throughout Notre Dame's win. Five of Eifert's six catches against the Eagles resulted in a first down. On the season, Eifert has either converted a first down or scored a touchdown on 24 of his 34 total receptions. Notre Dame started the night converting its first 10 third-down conversions and finished 11-of-14 on third down. The Eagles converted 8-of-15 third-down conversions by comparison.
"Some of it was our execution. Some of it was their execution. Some of it was their improvisation," Eagles coach Frank Spaziani said. "When you're losing, you're not making your share of plays."
Contact Chris Allen at callen10@nd.edu
