CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Notre Dame’s 25-10 win on Saturday night wasn’t sealed until midway through the fourth quarter, but the Irish’s consistent pressure of Boston College’s quarterback coated that sealant throughout the day.
With 4:48 left in the game and the Fighting Irish leading 25-10, Boston College was fighting for one last opportunity to come back.
Eagles quarterback Grayson James dropped back with time, something he didn’t have most of the contest. Why did he have so much time on this dropback? A holding penalty on Boston College and more pressure from the Blue and Gold was why.
The Eagles went from 2nd-and-7 at the Notre Dame 21, back to the 31. That number would begin to increase substantially.
On the following play, James dropped back and rolled out left. With no one open and defensive linemen charging towards him, he threw it desperately out of bounds. No one was in the area and the Eagles quarterback was called for intentional grounding, resulting in another Fighting Irish sack, which forced Boston College back to the 39 on the spot foul.
Then came the nail in the coffin.
On 3rd and 25, James shuffled backwards, and before he could peer up, in came a hungry Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa to deliver the hammer. The next play ended the drive.
“Every yard is personal to us, especially in those situations,” Viliamu-Asa said. “It’s personal for everyone on that defense. I don’t think we were perfect tonight, but I thought we were relentless. The guys didn’t stop playing hard to dig this win out. I’m proud of my team for that.”
On a combination of three plays, the Notre Dame defensive line pushed a desperate Boston College offense 25 yards backwards.
Despite penalties earlier in the contest, resilience was what head coach Marcus Freeman preached in his postgame press conference, and is exactly what reflected the defensive line group in a must-win game.
Up just eight points at the start of the final frame, Notre Dame had to come out with a stop. James and his offense crossed midfield, but once there, it was go-time for an energetic Fighting Irish pass rush.
On 2nd and 10 at the opponent 41, it was Jason Onye who got to the quarterback to force an incompletion. The next play, Jaylen Sneed forced James out right before pounding him after the sidelines, negating any progress. However, the resilient group responded, allowing just five rushing yards on the next two plays.
On 3rd and 7 on Notre Dame’s 27, James stepped back to pass. Pressure came from a streaking Jaiden Ausberry, who hurried James toward the left sideline. The Eagles quarterback attempted an awkward throw towards the goal line before getting crunched, which Adon Shuler intercepted.
Notre Dame caught fire and found the momentum it desperately needed to take firm control of the game with 11:21 left.
“Pass rush lanes and just having integrity on those lanes, and just being relentless and not being denied (was key),” Viliamu-Asa said after the game. “(Getting to the quarterback) feels great, and it's a testament to everybody on the defense, not just one dude.”
It wasn’t a perfect outing for the Notre Dame defense despite letting up just 10 total points, but the defensive line was consistent from the start.
After giving up 24 points last time out, and 32.7 on average in the first three games, the defensive development has been engineered by the guys up front. Just tonight, five different Fighting Irish pass rushers came away with at least a half a sack, and the team totaled nine hurries.
This was a massive improvement from just two sacks for a loss of nine yards the week prior, coupled with six quarterback hurries. Today the sacks totaled up to a 25-yard contribution while also preventing the BC offense as a whole to get into any sort of rhythm.
“I think we’ve made great improvements and we’ve been able to get aligned and communicate,” Viliamu-Asa said. “We’ve played with a level of violence and effort that has allowed us to be successful.”
Viliamu-Asa spoke to the momentum that pressures can bring to a team. Notre Dame will try to take that impetus into next week's battle on Saturday at home against Navy.
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