Crying Uncle

Boston College had to lose to Notre Dame eventually. That doesn't make Saturday's 20-16 loss in South Bend any easier to swallow, though.

"These guys played their hearts out," said Eagle linebacker Mike McLaughlin, a fifth-year senior co-captain who had experienced four of BC's six consecutive wins against Notre Dame. "This whole team did. To come into a place like this and play a game like that says something about our team. At the same time, we lost the game."

"We didn't finish the way we wanted to," said center Matt Tennant, a fellow fifth-year senior and co-captain.

Despite turning the ball over five times, including four times in the second half and once on the Irish 1-yard line, the Eagles were in position to win the game on their final drive.

That drive was slow to start. The Irish wrapped up Montel Harris, who followed his school-record 264-yard rushing performance with three fumbles on 22 carries for 38 yards, for a seven-yard loss at the BC 25. Quarterback Dave Shinskie went deep for receiver Colin Larmond, Jr., on the next play. Larmond was open, but the ball was just beyond his reach. Shinskie tried Larmond again on a crossing route, but the pass fell incomplete, bringing up a fourth-and-17 for the game.

BC needed a miracle to keep the drive alive. Enter wideout Rich Gunnell, who had 10 catches for 179 yards and a score. Gunnell ran a post and hauled in Shinskie's pass for a 29-yard pickup.

"I was looking at Richie the whole time," Shinskie said. "He made a great move on the safety to the outside, then he came back inside. I'm just lucky that he's got good hands, or the game would have been over there."

Two plays later, Shinskie was forced to roll out of the pocket to his right. Reading through his progression, he targeted Gunnell on a crossing route. Gunnell saw Shinskie scrambling, so he ran behind Irish linebacker Brian Smith to try to get open down field. Shinskie, expecting Gunnell to continue his route, threw the ball right into Smith's chest. Smith held on for the interception, sealing the game.

"It's a case of wanting a throw back," Shinskie said. "It sucks after a game, when you're saying to yourself, 'Man, I wish I had two or three throws back.' That's what I'm doing right now. I should have just thrown it out of bounds, but instead I tried to forced it in there and make a play. Richie was making them all night. I ended up throwing it right into the guy's chest."

Despite trailing for most of the second half, the Irish had the momentum throughout the fourth quarter. Down 16-13, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen engineered an 11-play, 53-yard drive that culminated in a goal line stand. On third-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Clausen rolled right and leaped for the pylon. He was met midair by McLaughlin and dragged to the ground on the 1-yard line. After each team took a timeout, the Irish lined up in the Wildcat with running back Robert Hughes receiving the snap. Hughes ran right and dove forward. BC safety Marcellus Bowman, though, hit him inches shy of the goal line to end the drive.

The Irish forced a three-and-out from the Eagles before marching back down field and finally putting points on the board. Receiver Golden Tate, who had a career-high 11 receptions for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns, ran an out route on the third play of the drive for a 36-yard score. Tate ran through a Donnie Fletcher arm tackle and turned Wes Davis inside out with a cutback to the middle of the field.

BC could have taken a double-digit lead late in the third quarter. The Eagles began the drive with a Montel Harris run from the Wildcat for 14 yards. Gunnell and Larmond moved BC downfield quickly with receptions of 20 and 34 yards, respectively. Shinskie scrambled for 15 yards to the Irish 10. Two plays later, though, Harris fumbled away the ball on the Notre Dame 1.

Harris' fumble woes, coupled with three Shinskie second-half interceptions in Notre Dame territory, cost the Eagles a seventh-straight win against their archrivals.

"We're a high wire act," Spaziani said. "There's no margin of error for us. There's no safety net when we fall off the ladder. Five turnovers are hard to overcome."