Opportunities to knock off one of the top teams in the country don’t come around often. Getting a second chance in the same season is even rarer.
Boston College knew it two weeks ago when it let a golden opportunity to upset No. 1 Clemson slip away in Death Valley.
As much as the Eagles' 34-28 loss to the Tigers may have opened some eyes around college football to BC’s potential under first-year coach Jeff Hafley, the Eagles came back to Boston with the bitter taste of falling short of something special.
A week later, Notre Dame did what BC couldn’t, outlasting Clemson in double-overtime to topple the top-ranked team in the country.
But with the win, the Fighting Irish moved up to No. 2 in the country and gave the Eagles a second chance.
The only other time the Eagles faced the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the same season was 1991, when they lost to No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Michigan.
Notre Dame proved to be a more daunting challenge than a Clemson team that was missing star quarterback Trevor Lawrence because of a positive COVID-19 test. The Irish had their way with the Eagles in an overwhelming 45-31 win, piling up a season-high 561 total yards.
As much as the Eagles got up for another chance at an upset, Hafley said there was a mental and physical toll that came with facing the top two teams in the country in the span of three weeks
“Physically, I think these guys need a break,” Hafley said. "I think they need to get away a little bit and rest and recover. I’m not sure how many teams have played nine straight games with these kids coming back June 28 to quarantine. They really haven’t had time off.
“I’m not gonna make an excuse. Let’s play the No. 1 team and the No. 2 team in the country. Let’s play the No. 3 team in the country the following week. It is what it is. It’s football, right? That’s why you play the game. We want to go up against the best. Our kids are probably well deserved to have a rest and let their bodies heal and rest up a little bit.”
Notre Dame remained unbeaten, upping its record to 8-0, while BC fell to 5-4. Dating to 2009, the Irish have dominated the Eagles, winning the last eight meetings.
Irish quarterback Ian Book, whose decision to return for a fifth season played a part in Eagles quarterback Phil Jurkovec’s decision to leave South Bend for BC, threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-27 passing and added 85 yards and another touchdown rushing. Receiver Ben Skowronek caught five passes for 63 yards with three touchdowns.
Jurkovec threw for 272 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, completing just 18 of 40 pass attempts. The Eagles churned out 357 yards but sputtered in the red zone. Despite getting inside the 20 seven times, the Eagles found the end zone just three times.
“For us to be the same, we had to execute at a really high level,” Hafley said. “And to do that we needed to score touchdowns in the red zone and we needed stops on third down — or at least get them to third down — and we didn’t do that. So give Notre Dame’s defense credit. It’s a good team. They’re big and physical, and they did a good job stopping us.”
The Eagles came out Saturday like they knew what was at stake. They held the Irish to a field goal on their first drive, then when they took over possession, drove 80 yards in 10 plays to find the end zone on a 4-yard pass from Jurkovec to Zay Flowers, who twisted his body at the last second to adjust and make the catch in the end zone for his seventh touchdown reception of the season.
Notre Dame running back Chris Tyree gave the Eagles a gift on the next drive when he lost a fumble on first down. The Eagles took over at the Notre Dame 19 but couldn’t capitalize. Instead of scoring a touchdown on a drive that started in the red zone, the Eagles settled for a 41-yard field goal from Aaron Boumerhi that pushed their lead to 10-3.
Against an offense with as much firepower as Notre Dame’s, the Eagles couldn’t afford to squander opportunities. The Irish quickly tied it at 10 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Book to Skowronek at the end of the first quarter.
From there, the Eagles offense stalled at crucial points while Notre Dame’s attack took off.
Notre Dame found the end zone three times in the second quarter — a 2-yard run by C’Bo Flemister, and two more touchdown passes from Book to Skowronek — and the Eagles went into the locker room down, 31-16, at the half.
The Eagles haven’t beaten a Top 5 team since 2002, when they upset a Fighting Irish team ranked fourth. They fell to 2-33 all-time against Top 5 teams, both wins against Notre Dame (2002, 1993).
“We pride ourselves on playing time top teams in the country, and we really like to excel in those opportunities,” said defensive lineman Brandon Barlow. "Today it didn’t go our away, but it’s definitely something we can build off.
“We know we’re a good team. We’ve gone nine weeks hard without a bye. So hopefully this week, we can rest up a little bit and recover and hit the rest of the season hard. We’ve only got two games left now, so we really want to finish and build off what we’ve done. We’ve got a hard-working team here. So we want to finish out strong.”
Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.
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