Against Boston College, Notre Dame ran for 252 yards, which is one of Notre Dame's higher totals of the season.
But 181 yards — 72 percent — of that production actually came from non-running backs or Irish walk-ons during garbage time. Quarterback Ian Book led all rushers with 66 yards, while wide receiver Braden Lenzy and backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec combined for more than 100 yards on the ground.
Tony Jones actually had a decent day, producing 61 rushing yards on 15 carries. He also had a six-yard reception, but the rest of the scholarship running backs produced a total of 10 yards on eight carries.
What’s unfortunate for Irish fans is this level of production from the running back room is becoming commonplace for Notre Dame, which creates a lot of uncertainty for the future of the position.
Upon closer evaluation of the game footage, a big part of the blame can be put on the Notre Dame offensive line, which did a poor job of blocking for the Irish running backs.
Still, the offensive overall had success, with quarterback Ian Book accounting for 305 yards of the team's total offense — albeit against a bad Boston College defense.
By looking at the Pro Football Focus grade for each regular offensive rotation player and the number of snaps they played, the offense averaged a 64.2 rating.
This is an average rating, which seems fair. The Irish struggled early on against the Eagle, which should not have happened.
I'd give the Notre Dame offense a C plus for its performance this past Saturday.
Offense Overall PFF Grade: 64.2 - "Average"
RUNNING BACK
Standout: Tony Jones — Considering no other Notre Dame running back had more than 11 yards rushing, this was an easy choice and Jones did have a few good moments this game.
