SOUTH BEND, Ind. — CJ Carr passed for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 3 Notre Dame showed no letdown after knocking off Miami last week, beating Boston College 41-7 on Saturday.
Notre Dame beat then-No. 1 Miami 31-24 a week ago. The Fighting Irish (9-1), who are No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings, returned Saturday and rolled to a 31-0 halftime lead.
Coach Marcus Freeman said his team did a great job of blocking out noise all week about 1993, when the Fighting Irish beat No. 1 Florida State but then lost to Boston College at home the next week.
“I thought the leadership was spot on this week, and I thought the guys understood the challenge they had in front of us, and they went out and played that way,” Freeman said. “I think you can look at the product that you saw on the field today and say they prepared the right way, they had the right mindset, but I think every day it’s a choice. It’s a choice you make.”
Carr completed 20-of-28 passes, including a 26-yard touchdown pass to Micah Gilbert and a 13-yard scoring strike to Jordan Faison. He praised the team’s focus against Boston College after the Miami victory.
“We try and do this with losses a lot, but what can we take from that game against Miami into this next week, you want to flush the feelings and the urge to stay in … that moment,” Carr said. “I think we can take the detail and the preparation that we had from that week and use that to propel us into this week and weeks beyond.”
Freshman running back Jonaz Walton gained 141 yards on 15 carries and scored on a 1-yard run. Nolan James Jr. added 73 yards rushing and a 10-yard touchdown. They replaced NFL first-round picks Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.
“They’re just continuously getting better,” Freeman said. “They’re continuously working together. They’re seeing things that maybe they didn’t see a month ago or two months ago.”
Jaylen Sneed scored a 1-yard scoop-and-score touchdown off a fumble forced by Boubacar Traore. The Fighting Irish limited Boston College to 136 yards of total offense.
Boston College (4-6) cashed in on Carr’s second interception of the season. K.P. Price picked off the pass at the Notre Dame 27. Three plays later, the Eagles’ Bo MacCormack III powered into the end zone from the 3 for the touchdown.
The takeaway
Defense opened the door for a 24-0 domination by Notre Dame in the second quarter. Boston College had minus-10 yards of total offense in the quarter.
Boston College added to its ACC-best mark for interceptions when Price intercepted Carr’s pass. The Eagles lead the conference with 13 interceptions. Price has four.
Up next
Notre Dame: Hosts SMU next Saturday.
Boston College: Hosts Syracuse next Saturday.
