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Notebook: Notre Dame Bye Week Comes At Ideal Time

For the third time in three seasons, Notre Dame is 8-0 and in a strong position for a College Football Playoff berth. Now, all the Fighting Irish must do is win their final three regular-season games and the ACC Championship—or at least be competitive in a close loss to a top-five Clemson team.

But while it may appear Notre Dame is rolling after a win over the No. 1 Tigers and a comfortable victory over a tough-as-nails Boston College team, the Irish coaching staff and players are thrilled that they’re idle next weekend.

“It's good timing,” said quarterback Ian Book. “We could use a break.”

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Notre Dame senior wide receiver Avery Davis
Notre Dame wide receiver Avery Davis had 29 rushing yards in a 45-31 win over Boston College. ((ACC))

But that doesn’t mean Notre Dame won’t be getting ready for their next opponent: the North Carolina Tar Heels.

For much of the upcoming week, it will still be business as usual for Notre Dame. Because of exams, the Notre Dame players will remain on campus and they will still be tested on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. They’ll also practice and hit the weight room through Thursday before having Friday through Sunday off.

“We still have a goal and that's an ACC Championship and a National Championship,” said Irish defensive end and captain Ade Ogundeji. “If we want to strive to get there, we have to work on the little things. We have to work on the details.”

Notre Dame Defense Looked ‘Tired’

For the Notre Dame defense, the game plan was simple against Boston College: limit quarterback Phil Jurkovec (Notre Dame’s backup at the position in 2019).

Heading into the “Holy War,” 72.5 percent of Boston College’s total yards had come from Jurkovec and his ability to make plays both through the air and on the ground.

The 6-5 junior didn’t have an overly efficient game, completing 45 percent of his passes, but he still produced 306 yards of total offense and repeatedly gashed Notre Dame with big plays. On 10 different occasions, Jurkovec picked up more than 15 yards, including passes of 34 and 40 yards.

Additionally, a lot of his production came off of Notre Dame mistakes or occurred in instances where Irish defenders appeared sluggish. After the game, Notre Dame head coach said he was happy his team didn’t play next weekend.

“We looked a little tired on defense,” Kelly said. “This bye week is coming at a good time for us to get some guys back and healthy. But I'm really pleased with the victory.”

Fortunately for the Fighting Irish, outside of Jurkovec, the rest of the Boston College players accounted for just 51 yards. Still, the Eagles scored 31 points, the third-highest total Notre Dame has allowed since Clark Lea became defensive coordinator.

One issue may have been Notre Dame’s lack of a pass rush. Coming into the contest, the Eagles were allowing nearly three sacks per game, but against the Fighting Irish, Jurkovec was only sacked once and it was by safety Shaun Crawford.

“We got to work on our standard on defense," Ogundeji said, "and we got to continue to get back on the grind."

Irish Divide Workload on the Ground

In Notre Dame’s first seven games of the season, starting running back Kyren Williams averaged 47.7 snaps per game or about 64 percent of Notre Dame offensive snaps.

Of course, this peaked last weekend against Clemson when Williams played 70 of 82 snaps while carrying the ball 23 times for 140 yards and three touchdowns. He also repeatedly sold out his body pass-blocking for quarterback Ian Book against the Tiger's blitzing linebackers and safety.

Needless to say, the sophomore back needed a lightened workload and got one in the 45-31 win over Boston College, especially after he banged up his shoulder in the second quarter. Williams stood on the sidelines for the entirety of the second half, finishing with just 13 touches for 74 yards, but he could have gone back in if necessary.

“It was precautionary in nature,” Kelly said. “That was, in fact, a coach's decision. He wasn't held out for medical reasons.”

Still, even with a diminished workload for Williams, the Fighting Irish eclipsed their season rushing average of 227 rushing yards with a total of 278. Notre Dame accomplished this by having five different players run for at least 29 yards.

The leading ball carrier was freshman Chris Tyree with 17 carries for 74 yards. However, he was slightly outgained by quarterback Ian Book, who had 10 rush attempts for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Perhaps the most impressive running back of the afternoon was 201-pound junior C’Bo Flemsiter, who repeatedly tossed Boston College defenders out his way as he fought for additional yards. With 10 carries for 54 yards and two touchdowns, plus one catch for 27 yards, Flemister did enough for Kelly to hand him the game ball after the win.

This happened even after Flemister left the game early with a leg injury, which Kelly said wasn’t as serious as it appeared on the field.

“Our initial evaluation of him was nothing that would cause great concern, so that's the good news,” Kelly said.

The final 29 rushing yards came from senior wide receiver Avery Davis on an end around.

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