Notre Dame Runs Past Boston College, 49-20
BOSTON (AP) — Brandon Wimbush ran for four touchdowns and 207 yards — a record for a Notre Dame quarterback — and Josh Adams had 229 rushing yards on Saturday to help the Irish respond to their fall from the rankings with a 49-20 victory over Boston College.
Wimbush scored on runs of 1, 2, 3, and 65 yards, setting up two other touchdowns with 46- and 32-yard runs. Adams broke free for 65- and 64-yard runs but was chased down both times by BC defensive back Isaac Yiadom.
In the matchup of the only two Catholic schools in FBS — a rivalry known as the "Holy War" — Notre Dame (2-1) led just 14-13 midway through the third quarter before scoring the next three touchdowns to beat the Eagles for the sixth straight time.
After BC (1-2) was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 on the Notre Dame 30, Wimbush broke downfield for 46 yards to set up Tony Jones' 1-yard touchdown. Adams opened the next Irish possession with a 36-yard run, Wimbush connected with Durham Smythe for 33 yards, and then two plays later the quarterback headed for the pylon to give the Irish a 28-13 lead.
When Notre Dame got the ball back, Wimbush broke right and then cut back across the field, outracing the BC defense 65 yards to the end zone.
Freshman Anthony Brown connected with Charlie Callinan on fourth-and-goal from the 14 for BC's second touchdown of the game, cutting the deficit to 35-20. But Wimbush again got loose, running 32 yards to the 3.
Dexter Williams ran it in from there and added a 15-yard score with 4:57 left to make it 49-20.
Wimbush completed 11 of 24 passes for 96 yards, with one interception. In all, the Irish ran for 515 yards on 51 carries.
Brown was 24 of 40 for 215 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
THE TAKEAWAY
Notre Dame: The one-point loss to then-No. 15 Georgia last week wasn't devastating, but a loss to a Boston College team that was blown out by Wake Forest last week might have been. Coach Brian Kelly's job is safe for another week.
Boston College: The hype of the rivalry helped BC stay close for almost 40 minutes, and the Eagles even had a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter. But they were really just killing time before the next Notre Dame big play.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame: at Michigan State on Saturday.
Boston College: Play at No. 3 Clemson on Saturday.
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