The Heights
Monday, November 12, 2012
B3
daniel lee / heights Editor
key stats
10 53 2:33
quote of the game
Consecutive first downs to start the game by ND Total rushing yards for Boston College
“It’s kind of been the same story all year. Obviously, statistically it’s been a great year for a couple of guys on our offense, but you’ve still got to walk around campus with a loss. [Statistics are] not really significant to us.”
- Chase Rettig Junior Quarterback
Time of possession for BC in the second quarter
key performers
game-changing play On the first drive of the third quarter, Notre Dame marched down the field and made it a 21-3 lead when Everett Golson threw a 18-yard touchdown to John Goodman, who burned Sean Sylvia on the side of the end zone.
it was over when... Everett Golson
alex amidon Graham beck / heights editor
daniel lee / heights editor
Alex Amidon set the BC record for receiving yards in a season thanks to an 84-yard performance. Golson scorched the Eagles for two passing TDs and one on the ground.
football notebook
Once again, third down troubles lead to loss By Alex Stanley For The Heights
It was the same story yet again for Boston College as it was downed 21-6 by undefeated rival No. 4 Notre Dame at Alumni Stadium on Saturday night. It was another loss, another night of giving up third down conversions, even more injuries, and a few individual positives. The Irish offense came into the game averaging just under 27 points per game, and the BC defense did its job in keeping them under that total. Notre Dame converted 11 of 14 third downs, however, at one point even converting 10 for 10. Quarterback Everett Golson was the highlight of this Notre Dame offense, which gave the Eagles’ defense a headache on third down. His athleticism continually allowed him to rush past the initial line of the BC defense in order to advance past the first down marker, and his passing accuracy rarely let him down when it came down to the wire. Golson almost always ended up with the ball when the Irish were on third down, and his comfort both rushing and passing continued to lead his team on drives. He ended the night with 200 yards passing, two touchdowns, and 39 yards rushing, including one touchdown on the run. “Whenever you are facing a nationalcaliber team, you know that they are going
to execute,” said linebacker Steele Divitto. “That is something that we have struggled with this year. We get them at third and long and we can’t get them off the field. That is something that we need to work on and continue to build on. The reason we won the Maryland game was because we got them off the field on third down, and today we couldn’t do that until later in the game, but it was already too late.” Head coach Frank Spaziani credited Notre Dame, but also his own team’s lack of execution. “Some of it was our execution and some of it was their execution,” Spaziani said. “Some of it was their improvisation. We’ve got to make some plays, and when we get the opportunity, we have to make our share of them.” Finch Freed Deuce Finch returned to the field for the first time since his goal-line fumble against Northwestern. Finch had been in Spaziani’s doghouse since that road trip, and made the most of his action on Saturday. Against the Irish, Finch got seven carries and broke off two solid gains. At least for a couple moments, he looked like his old self. “I saw the Deuce that I like to see,” Spaziani said of Finch’s performance. Finch finished with 40 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry against the Irish defense. Spaziani discussed Finch’s play on Sunday after watching the tape.
“Deuce did what Deuce is supposed to do,” Spaziani said. “He looked like the guy that we were familiar with at the beginning of the year. Once again, he has to practice and continue doing what he did to get him where he got to last night, and then his role will certainly increase. “Once again, there’s certain things you have to do. We just can’t project him into a more active role until he demonstrates that he has earned it, and he certainly stepped up and looked like a good back [Saturday] night.” More Injuries The Eagles also sustained two key injuries to receiver Bobby Swigert and linebacker Nick Clancy. Swigert had 23 yards receiving and nine yards rushing before he hobbled off of the field. He went into the locker room on crutches, and appeared to have an injury to the right knee. “The preliminary was not very good,” Spaziani said of Swigert. Clancy, on the other hand, received a concussion according to Spaziani, ruling him out of the game. This adds trouble to the linebacker position, as Kevin Pierre Louis has missed two straight games due to an injury as well. Clancy led the team in tackles prior to the game, with 107 this season. Sophomore Sean Duggan and freshmen Steven Daniels and Tim Joy had to fill in the gaps left by the more senior linebackers. n
With under seven minutes left to play, Chase Rettig’s pass was tipped and landed in the hands of ND linebacker Manti Te’o, which ended yet another scoreless drive for the Eagles.
BC lacks a punch against ND Football, from B1 “… Two and eight. That’s the only stat I’m worried about.” Rettig has been a model leader throughout the Eagles’ tumultuous season, but on Saturday he started to let himself loose. He almost beat the media to the press conference, still wearing his jersey, still sweaty and out of breath. All season long he’s put the blame on himself, but eight times was too many. “We had some penalties that kind of hurt us,” Rettig began. “We had third and long a lot which has kind of become something consistent in the games prior to today. So we’ve got to be better on first down.” Rettig didn’t cause those penalties, and he didn’t set up those third-andlongs. He’s said it before—BC has to run better on first down and that didn’t happen against the Irish. The Eagles ran for a total of 53 yards, a horrendous sum that somehow topped previous marks of 32, eight, and 12 in the three games prior. Deuce Finch returned to the field and showed off his impressive burst on a couple of solid runs, but being relegated to the scout team has its effects. So does an offensive line that can’t get any sort of push off the line of scrimmage. “We kind of struggled,” Rettig began when asked about the offense not being able to take advantage of turnovers forced by the defense, but then he changed course. “We didn’t struggle, we just shot ourselves in the foot a whole bunch,” Rettig said. “We dropped passes. The
pass protection broke down a little bit a couple times there. Just execution. It’s not any one in particular, just the offense as a whole.” He’d had enough. The quarterback who transformed himself from being inconsistent and unreliable to an overlooked star couldn’t take all of the blame any longer. The quarterback who looked across the room and saw his tireless wide receiver waiting to speak about a record he knew his friend didn’t care about just couldn’t put all of that weight on his own shoulders for an eighth time. This was supposed to be a coming out party showcasing all of his offseason improvements, but instead it was just one more game on the Irish’s way to the national championship. Rettig got one final question about Amidon before the press conference ended, asking him to talk about the year his go-to receiver was having. “I think he has a good quarterback,” Rettig joked, sort of, before going on to praise the new record-holder. “He’s taken a lot of hits this year and gotten up every time. Everyone should be congratulating him on his accomplishment. He’s done really well with the big things at his position that are going to go down in the history of BC. Hats off to Alex. He’s what everyone who goes to BC should be like.” Maybe Rettig was trying to lighten the mood with that initial joke, but maybe he just wanted to remind everyone. Maybe he had to get out one last reminder that he’s still here, he still has game, and that his play still matters. Even though the record might not show it. n