Despite statistical domination, Irish still lose
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Associate Sports Editor
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.
Two teams. Two styles of play. Two results.
One team called conservative running plays and looked sloppy throwing the ball. They fumbled the football with the game on the line and their offense spent more time in the locker room at halftime than they did with the ball during the game. That team won.
The other team called creative plays and dominated the stat sheets. That team lost.
"It's just amazing right now," Notre Dame tight end Gary Godsey said. "We played well, our defense played hard, it's amazing that we lost."
One team wanted to throw early, but they couldn't. Instead, Boston College gave the ball to their star tailback, who single-handedly accounted for 262 of his team's 354 yards. It was obvious and it was predictable. But they scored 21 points.
The other team established and carried an effective game plan. Notre Dame wanted to control the clock, and they did. For the first time all season, they utilized play-action plays that completely fooled the defense. And they only scored 17 points.
Statistically, there's no way the Irish should have lost. They controlled the ball 20 minutes longer than the Eagles, picked up nine more first downs and ran nearly twice as many plays.
But as Notre Dame offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers said, "Statistics are for losers."
And after Saturday's game, all the Irish are left with are a bunch of statistics and another loss.
It's easy to explain why Boston College won. An underrated tailback named William Green dragged Irish defenders all over the field the entire night. On his first touchdown, he burst through a hole big enough for Bob Davie's moving truck. On his second touchdown — a play where he came out of the backfield and still caught the ball 20 yards downfield — he simply outsprinted Donald Dykes and Courtney Watson, leaving them staring at the No. 1 on Green's back as they lay on the Astroturf.
It's also easy to explain why the Irish lost. Despite a dominant statistical advantage in several offensive categories, the Irish lost because they simply missed their opportunities to win. And they had plenty.
Early in the fourth quarter, David Givens took a handoff, ran to the right side of the field, and heaved the ball downfield to a wide-open Javin Hunter, a brilliant call that fooled Boston College's defense. But Givens waited too long to throw, giving defenders a chance to catch Hunter. Instead of a touchdown, Hunter was tackled. Three plays later, Julius Jones fumbled.
Then, with 3:15 left in the game and the Irish facing fourth-and-two on the Boston College 17, Rogers called for a play that gave Holiday an option of passing to the tight end or running for a first down — the same play Owens scored on earlier in the game. But this time, when Holiday rolled out, three Eagle defenders were in his way. He threw a pass into double-coverage to Godsey, who hadn't caught a pass since high school. The pass was batted down in the end zone — 15 yards more than the Irish needed. Even Holiday didn't know why the Irish threw the ball instead of running.
"Hindsight is 20/20," Rogers said. "I should have asked Bob for a timeout, regrouped, and got a better call in."
Then, after Green's fumble sent him off the field in tears, the Irish had one last chance. But when Holiday hobbled off the field with an injury, Notre Dame's chances went with him.
"We had an opportunity to win the game," said Shane Walton. "We had a chance to win it the whole game. It hurts."
When the Irish lost to Nebraska, they were angry. When the Irish lost to Michigan State, they were frustrated. When the Irish lost to Texas A&M, they were crushed.
But when the Irish lost to Boston College, they were befuddled.
Godsey looked shell-shocked. Holiday was frustrated. Grant Irons didn't have an explanation.
"Nobody is going to feel sorry for us," Davie said.
The statistics were in their favor. They did what they wanted to do. Their game plan worked. They just didn't win.
Two teams. One celebrating. One scratching its head.
Contact Andrew Soukup at asoukup@nd.edu. The opinions of this column are those of the author and are not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 30, 2001
