Notebook: Snow does not slow down No. 18 Irish from winning fifth straight

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For as much shock the bitter cold and blizzard-like conditions might have been for the 73,503 fans — and even some players — at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, it was the opposite for Joe Alt.

“This one reminded me of the peewee days,” said Alt, Notre Dame’s starting sophomore left tackle and Fridley (Minn.) Totino-Grace High product. “Eighth grade, we had one. I think it was 0 (degrees) with the wind chill. But, back then, you could wear sleeves. So that was a little bit different.

“Today was up there. It was cold.”

Alt and No. 18 Notre Dame (8-3) prevailed without perturbing, 44-0, against Boston College (3-8) during the first Irish snow game in South Bend since 2013. But despite the temperature registering 25 degrees at kickoff, Alt and the Irish offensive line evaded the weather with a mentality well-established before Saturday.

Notre Dame practiced outside multiples times during the week to prepare for the environment Mother Nature ended up providing during week 12 of the college football season. And when they walked out of the tunnel, the Irish offensive linemen didn't have their arms covered.

“For us, offensive linemen, it's never going to be sleeves,” Alt said. “We just knew we weren't going in sleeves. We were just going to prepare for the cold. …

“And I think this week and every week, our preparation has gotten a little bit better. And I think that showed today. We were on our game plan as best as we possibly could have been as an offensive line playing together and going out there and rushing for the yards we did. I think it all was in our preparation.”

That mindset paved the way for the second-best rushing output in the Marcus Freeman era. The Irish finished just six yards shy (281) of their top rushing performance of the season (287), which came against North Carolina on Sept. 24. Sophomore running back Logan Diggs carried the load this week with 122 yards on 15 carries (8.1 yards per carry) and one touchdown.

Diggs, who hails from Boutte, La., might not be as accustomed to the cold as Alt. But like the Irish tackle — and many other players — Diggs ditched the sleeves in favor of toughness and ball security.

“Our challenge as a running back room was, first, most importantly, ball security, protecting the quarterback, protecting the football,” Diggs said. “And second, I probably would say not letting the cold dictate how we perform.

“It was cold, but it was doable. They took care of us on the sidelines. We had the heated benches and the jackets, so I was fine.”

The conditions did not hinder the Notre Dame defense either. However, the slickness was notable enough to warrant attention of junior safety Xavier Watts.

“It didn't affect me as much -- I don't think it affected safeties much either,” Watts said. “We don't have to catch the ball. It's more so having to just go tackle. And I guess it was a little difficult coming out of the breaks, coming out of the posts. But other than that, it wasn't too bad."

Last week, the 6-foot, 193-pound junior racked up a career-high eight tackles. Though this week was a much more collective defensive effort (ND’s top tacklers JD Bertrand and Jaylen Sneed had five stops each) the Omaha (Neb.) Harry A. Burke product had just two tackles.

Still, one of those tackles was an 11-yard sack, the first of his career.

The Irish defense pitched a shutout for the first time in Freeman’s head coaching career. Notre Dame limited Boston College to just 173 yards, 56 of which came on the ground. The Eagles also turned the ball over five times and had just 10 first downs with 29 minutes of possession time.

The Irish improved to 6-0 all-time at home in "snow games," per Notre Dame's classification, and 18-1-2 all-time in those matchups.

“This was my toughest game in terms of weather conditions playing, or coaching,” Freeman said. “So, the people that stayed, the fans, man, the students and the people that work here have been unbelievable.”

The final home game of senior defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey’s career began with a resounding amount of support from the Irish faithful. And the first half ended likewise.

On the second quarter's final play, the 6-5, 265-pound Foskey brought down Boston College quarterback Emmett Morehead for the 25th sack of his career. That sack earned him the career sack record at Notre Dame, surpassing Justin Tuck's 24.5 sacks from 2001-04.

“(It’s) huge when you think about the elite pass rushers we've had in the history of Notre Dame football,” Freeman said.

And according to Notre Dame’s head coach, that sack meant more than just another accolade for Foskey.

“It's a reflection of so many things,” Freeman said. “He didn't come back just to break the record. He came back to win a national championship. And you know what? He didn't win a championship this year. But what he did for this program and what those seniors did for this program to me will be the reason why we do win a national championship in the future.

“So, I told those guys last night in our last meeting, senior meeting, thank you because they built the foundation. They really have built the foundation of what is to come. I'm glad he got a personal achievement, but what he did for this program in terms of those seniors, it's going to be really impactful.”

With one regular season game and the opportunity to play in a bowl game remaining in his Irish career, Foskey has 117 tackles (70 solo), 29 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles to go along with his spot atop the Irish record books with 25 sacks.

- Notre Dame honored the following 25 seniors pregame: Jayson Ademilola, Justin Ademilola, Bo Bauer, TaRiq Bracy, DJ Brown, Avery Davis, Osita Ekwonu, Isaiah Foskey, Michael Graves, Houston Griffith, Blake Grupe, Cam Hart, Zane Heemsoth, Brandon Joseph, Braden Lenzy, Josh Lugg, Greg Mailey, Christian Opperman, Jarrett Patterson, Conor Ratigan, Matt Salerno, Chris Smith, Jon Sot, Hunter Spears and Michael Vinson.

- Michael Mayer left his final mark in what will likely be his last game at Notre Dame Stadium. The junior tight end and top NFL Draft prospect finished with 64 yards, increasing his career total to 2,001 yards. He is the only tight end in Notre Dame history to exceed 2,000 receiving yards.

Mayer moved up to fourth all-time in career receptions at Notre Dame with his five catches. Mayer passed Rhema McKnight, who caught 170 passes from 2002-06. Mayer has caught a pass in all 35 career games.

- Griffith, Lugg and Bracy added another game to their career games played total, further cementing their places in the Irish record books. Jayson Ademilola did not play due to an injury.

- Senior wide receiver Matt Salerno's one-yard touchdown grab was the first of his career. Salerno also had a 28-yard punt return in the second quarter, which was Notre Dame's longest of the season.

- Graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser notched his first forced fumble of the season (third career), and senior linebacker Marist Liufau had his first fumble recovery in 2022 (second career) on a different play.

- Graduate student kicker Blake Grupe matched his career highs with three field goals. Grupe was successful from 26, 41 and 46 yards out.

- Freshman linebacker Jaylon Sneed's team-high five tackles were the most of his career. Sneed made his career debut last week.

- Senior linebacker Christian Opperman, sophomore safety Marty Auer, sophomore offensive lineman Pat Coogan, sophomore defensive lineman Jason Onye, sophomore cornerback Chance Tucker, freshman linebacker Joshua Burnham, freshman defensive tackle Donovan Hinish and freshman linebacker Nolan Ziegler each made their Notre Dame debuts.

- The following players appeared for the first time this season: Graduate student safety Mike Graves (first appeared in 2021), graduate student wide receiver Greg Mailey (2019-21), senior wide receiver Conor Ratigan (2021), junior offensive lineman Michael Carmody (2021), sophomore cornerback Cane Berrong (2021), sophomore defensive lineman Aidan Keanaaina (2020-21) and sophomore cornerback Phillip Riley (2021).

- Representatives from the ReliaQuest Bowl, Cheez-It Bowl and TaxSlayer Bowl were listed on the Notre Dame press box seating chart.

- Seven NFL representatives were credentialed for the game: Lake Dawson (Buffalo Bills), Terrance Gray (Bills), George Panos (Houston Texans), Justin Sheridan (Los Angeles Chargers), Jeff Shiver (Chicago Bears), Michael Spurlock (Green Bay Packers) and Shawn Wallace (Packers).

BOX SCORE: NOTRE DAME 44, BOSTON COLLEGE 0 FINAL STATS

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