Top 4 Moments In The Boston College - Notre Dame Rivalry
Boston College travels to South Bend, Indiana to take on No. 15 Notre Dame this Saturday for the 25th and latest renewal of "The Holy War," a rivalry between the only Catholic schools in Division 1 football.
The Fighting Irish are riding a six-game winning streak in this series. Meanwhile, the Eagles' bowl eligibility is potentially dependent on snapping that streak and pulling off the upset. Between head coach Steve Addazio's job security and the NFL draft stock of play makers on both sides the 2019 edition of "The Holy War" is shaping up to be another high stakes matchup.
The 24 meetings between the two programs have offered moments of divine intervention, and a fair share of sinful wrath over the years. The next verse in this rivalry will have a hallowed history behind it.
4. The Fake Punt, Nov. 7, 1992
Notre Dame's four game win-streak to open this rivalry culminated in a 54-7 blowout that ended the Eagles' hopes of reaching a bowl game that year. Both teams entered the game ranked 8 and 9, and Boston College was undefeated to that point and looking for a program-first win over the Irish, but all they found was four quarters of Purgatory.
''We got our butts kicked and our heads are down and our tails are between our legs. It`s total humility.'' former head coach Tom Coughlin infamously said after the game.
Notre Dame led 37-0 at the half, but made headlines for a decision coming out of the half to start the third quarter. With a five-possesion lead, Irish head coach Lou Holtz called for a fake punt on fourth and one to set up another Notre Dame touchdown.
''There`s nothing illegal about it,'' Holtz said about his calling the fake. ''It was a matter of running the play and letting people know we have it.
It was a move that kept the crowd well in the game, and gave assurance to a Notre Dame team that for some reason came into the game annoyed by how much credit the Boston College defense was getting in the week leading up to the game. However, it was a move that also proved to be a last-straw moment for the Eagles in the rivalry.
3. Cirino Seals It, Nov. 20, 1999
A Notre Dame loss to Boston College would make the Irish bowl-ineligible for the first time since 1986. Meanwhile, the Eagles were looking to get back to their first bowl in four years, and a win would secure their spot.
In each of the past 10 meetings to this point, the Irish always sported the better record and the higher ranking, but this time, the Eagles had the advantage in both measures.
But despite the advantage, Notre Dame still had plenty of time to pull out the win and keep its 13-year streak alive. With 2:18 left in the game, Notre Dame got the ball back, down by two, and only needing a field goal to win.
But on the second play of the drive, safety Pedro Cirino stepped in front of a Jarious Jackson pass to make a game clinching interception, delivering the Eagles a 31-29 victory. The interception not only wrapped up the game, and Notre Dame's season, but it reversed the fortunes of this rivalry for the next decade as Boston College won five of the next six meetings.
2. The Fenway Game, Nov. 21, 2015
The Boston Red Sox had just finished in last place for the second year in a row, but this rivalry brought football back to Fenway Park for the first time in 47 years. However, it did not come without an ironic twist that deprived Boston College fans from seeing their team's branding on the historic field.
The Irish got hosting rights for the game, due to the fact that it was part of their program's special "Shamrock Series." A "tradition" that dates all the way back to 2009, grants Notre Dame a home-away-from-home game in a different American city every year.
In 2015, that NCAA-granted privelege made the Irish the home team against the Eagles in their own back yard. Boston College Athletics even had to issue a public statement addressing its limited ticket availability for Eagles fans.
Despite the limited admission, despite Notre Dame being ranked fourth in the nation and despite trudging through a three-win season, Boston College came within three-points of a stunning upset win. But ultimately, the Eagles suffered a 19-16 "road" loss.
1. David And Goliath, November 20, 1993
David Gordon walked onto the Boston College football team as a transfer in 1991. He played one year of soccer at the University of Vermont, before moving to Chestnut Hill, knowing nothing of American football.
Two years later, his name would be cemented in the lore of American football forever.
Eight weeks after missing a game-winning field goal against Northwestern, he stood at the Notre Dame 31-yard line with five seconds left. He didn't miss that one.
Gordon's 41-yard field goal derailed undefeated No. 1 Notre Dame's bid at a national championship and delivered Boston College a 41-39 victory, its first over the Irish in program history. But perhaps most important, it avenged the infamous fake punt from the year before.
“The sun was setting when I made the kick and back then, they didn’t have permanent lights and the lighting was not great. The one thing I could see was the gold on Touchdown Jesus which really helped me,” Gordon said. "They really ran up the score on us [in 1992] ... i’s a big game for us because of the rivalry. We kind of dedicate our offseason to prepare for that one game.”
When Gordon returned to the Heights from South Bend, Indianna, the kicker was mobbed by home fans, fans who had even gone so far as to drag the goalposts from alumni stadium into Gordon's back yard.
"[Coughlin] wasn’t too happy about that because we had to get new goalposts.”