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Boston College stymies flat Notre Dame

Nov 9, 2008 - 6:04 AM CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Notre Dame's struggles against Boston College - and teams with winning records - continued in humiliating fashion.

Montel Harris rushed for 117 yards and Boston College forced five turnovers en route to its sixth straight win over the Fighting Irish, a 17-0 blanking on a rain-soaked Saturday.

Brandon Robinson hauled in a 9-yard touchdown reception for Boston College (6-3), which outgained Notre Dame, 166-64, on the ground.

"I asked how many guys were recruited, visited and offered by Notre Dame. There were no hands that went up. I told those guys they may not be good enough to be recruited by Notre Dame but they're sure (darn) good enough to play at Boston College," Eagles coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "I am really proud of these kids. They just fought. They do everything that you ask them to do and they do it the right way. It was a great team win for us."

Paul Anderson returned one of Jimmy Clausen's four interceptions for a touchdown as Notre Dame (5-4) dropped to 0-4 against teams with a winning record this season.

As the contest sloshed through a steady drizzling rain, Boston College ran the ball effectively and took advantage of its mistake-prone opponent.

"The offense was committing penalties early in the game that put them in bad down and distances," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said. "I felt that they pressed, a good portion of the rest of the night."

The Eagles got on the board when Steve Aponavicius capped a 14-play drive with a 27-yard field goal, giving Boston College a 3-0 lead with 1:46 left in the first quarter.

Notre Dame had the ball at midfield midway through the second quarter when Clausen threw a long pass that was intercepted by Anderson. The Boston College safety returned it 76 yards down the right sideline to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead with 6:19 left in the first half.

"I was going to take it out of bounds and let the offense take over but I changed my mind at the last second," Anderson said. "I saw the hole open up and that's when I changed my mind. I could hear people on the sidelines saying 'Go, go, go.'"

Notre Dame had the ball deep in Boston College territory near the end of the half, but Clausen was picked off by Roderick Rollins at the Eagles' 11-yard line.

Golden Tate fumbled a punt return on the Eagles' 48-yard line, setting up Boston College's next score. Chris Crane capped the seven-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Robinson to give BC a 17-0 bulge with 10:27 left in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Irish were driving and had moved the ball to the Eagles' 27 before Anderson intercepted Clausen in the end zone, again denying Notre Dame from scoring.

"That was a great defensive effort," Jagodzinski said. "We were really struggling offensively and our defense did a great job for us. They made plays for us. Paul Anderson made some great plays on the back end for us."

The Irish turned it over on downs on their next possession, when Armando Allen rushed for no gain on a 4th-and-1 from the Eagles' 22.

Clausen finished 26-of-46 for 226 yards.

It was the first shutout in the series between the two teams, which have split the 18 all-time meetings.