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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- The Irish aren't going to a bowl game
this year, and it's not because they don't want to. It's because
they can't.
Tim Hasselbeck threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as No. 25 Boston College (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 25 AP) beat Notre Dame 31-29 Saturday, dropping the Irish to 5-6 and making them bowl-ineligible for the first time in 13 years.
|  | | Boston College tight end Bryan Arndt scores the Eagles' first touchdown on a 27-yard reception. |
"I think we're beat up emotionally more than anything," said
quarterback Jarious Jackson, who was a sophomore in 1996 when Notre
Dame opted against playing in a bowl game despite an 8-3 record.
"It hurts badly. I can't put it into words."
Three weeks ago, the Irish were 5-3 and shooting for a New
Year's Day appearance. But a 38-14 whipping by Tennessee and a
37-27 collapse at Pittsburgh last week made Saturday's game a
must-win for the Irish to have a shot at finishing 7-5.
But the Irish didn't have an answer for Hasselbeck, despite some
more last-minute magic from Jackson.
With Boston College (8-2) up 31-17, the Irish rallied for two
touchdowns in the final six minutes. But a missed extra-point kick
and a failed two-point conversion pass with 3:27 left pushed Notre
Dame to the brink of its first losing season since 1986.
The Irish have to win at Stanford next week to avoid that, but
even a victory would not give them the winning record required to
play in a bowl.
"I was pretty sure we were going to end the season 7-5, but the
tables turned," Jackson said. "So now the best thing for us to do
is to try to be 6-6."
Even the idea of finishing below .500 would've been considered
blasphemous before the season began after a 9-3 record in 1998.
Notre Dame faithful talked of pursuing a national championship,
believing the Irish could keep alive a streak of winning the title
every 11 years with crowns in '66, '77 and '88.
But youth, a tough schedule and poor coaching jumped up and bit
the Irish early as they launched into a three-game skid after
winning their season opener.
"I just think that we've got to realize we've got one more
shot," linebacker Rocky Boiman said. "This game we lost, but
we've always got one more shot. We've just got to take it like that
and go out and win."
The problems that plagued Notre Dame all season doomed them on Saturday.
The secondary couldn't contain Hasselbeck, who was 20-of-30 for 272 yards. After rushing for 136 yards on the season before the
game for a 2.2 average per carry, he gained 60 yards on 15 carries.
And Notre Dame couldn't mount a rushing attack. Boston College held Notre Dame to 95 yards on 32 carries, just more than half of
its 184 yards per game average.
Still, the Irish somehow found a way to give themselves a chance
at the end.
Hasselbeck's 34-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Burke with 12:39
left put the Eagles up 31-17, casting a pall over the stadium.
But Jackson, who had already guided Notre Dame to three
fourth-quarter comebacks this season, gave the Irish a glimmer of
hope with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tony Fisher on 4th-and-six
with 5:56 left. Jim Sanson's extra point was tipped, and Notre Dame
still trailed 31-23.
The Irish held Boston College to a three-and-out on its next
possession, and Julius Jones returned the kick 67 yards for a
touchdown with 3:27 left. But Jackson's pass to Joey Getherall for
the two-point conversion went through the receiver's hands in the
back of the end zone.
The Irish got the ball back again with 2:18 left. But one year
after Notre Dame made a goal-line stand, stopping Boston College on
four straight plays from inside the 5-yard line to win 31-26, the
Eagles made a stand of their own.
Jackson's first pass on Notre Dame's next possession was almost
picked off and then Pedro Cirino intercepted his next attempt at
the Notre Dame 38 to seal the win.
"It stuck with us for a year. It never went away," Boston
College coach Tom O'Brien said of last year's loss. "From that day
on they dedicated themselves. They refused to lose."
Jackson finished 19-of-34 for 283 yards to break Joe Theismann's single-season passing record of 2,429 yards with a total of 2,586. He also rushed for 23 yards to give him 3,026 total yards from
scrimmage this season, breaking Theismann's single-season record of
2,813. But he also was picked off twice.
"Our turn will come again," Irish coach Bob Davie said. "One
thing I think this team has is character, and we're not going to
lose character because there are some bullets being shot at us
right now."
Boston College defensive lineman Todd McKniff was carried off
the field on a stretcher after he was hit hard on Notre Dame's last
kickoff. He was examined at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center
and released. But a hospital spokesman would not give out details
of his condition.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Tim Hasselbeck threw for three
touchdowns and ran for another as Boston College (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 25 AP) beat Notre Dame 31-29 Saturday, dashing Irish hopes for a bowl game.
Trailing 31-17, Notre Dame (5-6) rallied in the final six
minutes with two touchdowns. But the Irish missed a tying,
two-point conversion pass with 3:27 left.
The Irish didn't have an answer for Hasselbeck, who was 20-of-30
for 272 yards. Hasselbeck, who had 136 rushing yards on the season
before the game for a 2.2 average per carry, also rushed for 60
yards on 15 carries.
Hasselbeck's 34-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Burke with 12:39
left put the Eagles (8-2) up 31-17 and assured Notre Dame of
being bowl ineligible for the first time in 13 seasons.
The Irish play Stanford next Saturday and need to win to avoid
their first losing season since 1986. But even a victory would not
give them the winning record required to play in a bowl.
In 1996, Notre Dame was 8-3 and eligible for a bowl but turned
down a chance to go in coach Lou Holtz's final season.
Jarious Jackson, who had already guided Notre Dame to three
fourth-quarter comebacks this season, gave the Irish a glimmer of
hope with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tony Fisher on 4th-and-six
with 5:56 left. Jim Sanson's extra point was tipped, and Notre Dame
still trailed 31-23.
The Irish held Boston College to a three-and-out on its next
possession, and Julius Jones returned the kick 67 yards for a
touchdown with 3:27 left. But Jackson's pass to Joey Getherall for
the two-point conversion went through the receiver's hands in the
back of the end zone.
One year after Notre Dame made a goal-line stand, stopping
Boston College on four straight plays from inside the 5-yard line
to win 31-26, the Eagles made a stand of their own.
Jackson's first pass on Notre Dame's next possession was almost
picked off and then Pedro Cirino intercepted his next attempt at
the Notre Dame 38 to seal the win.
Jackson finished 19-of-34 for 283 yards to break Joe Theismann's
single-season passing record of 2,429 yards with a total of 2,586.
He also rushed for 23 yards to give him 3,026 total yards from
scrimmage this season, breaking Theismann's single-season record of
2,813.
But Jackson also was picked off twice, and Notre Dame couldn't
mount a rushing attack, a key element to its offense. The Irish
were held to 95 yards on 32 carries, just more than half of its 184
yards per game average.
Notre Dame came out playing like a team pushed to the brink,
scoring on its first two possessions. But Boston College reeled off
17 unanswered points and seemed to withstand Notre Dame's best
punch in the first half.
Sanson kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired to tie it up
17-17 at the half with Notre Dame's longest field goal of the
season.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Boston College Clubhouse
Notre Dame Clubhouse
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