Notre Dame Football: Grading the Fighting Irish's Game vs. Boston College

Following Notre Dame's nail-biting victory over Boston College, it's time to hand out report card grades to each unit of the Fighting Irish football team.

It's quite fair to say that it's unlikely for any players not on defense to receive an "A". The offense struggled to move the ball for a majority of the contest but was saved by an outstanding effort from the defense.

Despite those offensive woes, Brian Kelly's squad was able to send its seniors out on a positive note, earning a 16-14 victory over the Eagles.

Follow along as we hand out our weekly report card grades.

Quarterbacks

Grade: B-

To say Tommy Rees had a rough go of it would be an understatement. The sophomore was seemingly befuddled by Boston College's defensive game plan.

The Eagles' coaching staff drew up a scheme that had eight to nine players dropping into coverage, with a two or three-man rush. Defensive coordinator Bill McGovern had no trouble dialing up this package due to the fact that Tommy Rees wasn't going to be a threat running the ball.

The scheme forced Rees into many poor throws, resulting in a number of three-and-outs for the Irish offense.

To add some salt to the wound, Rees regressed in his mechanics. More often than not, Rees was spotted throwing off his back foot on the deep routes.

His arm angle on those deep routes also needs work, as he's not releasing the football at a proper high angle.

Running Backs

Grade: B+

Before I move on to analyzing the play of the Irish running backs, I'd like to wish Jonas Gray the best, as he learned earlier today that his career in South Bend is over after suffering a torn ACL.

Before going down with that injury, Gray had another solid day, rushing for 61 yards on 11 carries to go along with a 25-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Cierre Wood was forced to shoulder the load of the carries after Gray went down, carrying the ball 26 times for 94 yards. His effort pushed him to the 1,000-yard mark on the season.

Yet, it was tough luck for Wood for a majority of the afternoon against a stiff Boston College rush defense.

Credit the Eagles front seven for attacking the open running lanes and stuffing the Irish backs at the line of scrimmage time after time.

Receivers

Grade: B

Because of the defensive scheme conjured up by Boston College's Bill McGovern, Notre Dame receivers were stuck in no-man's land on Saturday.

Knowing that Tommy Rees wouldn't be a threat running the ball, McGovern dropped eight to nine of his defenders in coverage, blanketing each and every Irish receiver.

When there were opportunities, Michael Floyd and his unit did a great job of picking up yards after the catch.

However, Floyd had an uncharacteristic drop that would have been a 10 to 15-yard gain had he held on.

There was some good news, though. Robby Toma had another excellent outing in the place of Theo Riddick, hauling in five receptions for 65 yards.

Offensive Line

Grade: B

With Mike Golic Jr. making his second consecutive start at center, he and the rest of the Notre Dame offensive line had their moments against Boston College.

After yielding three sacks last week against Maryland, the line had an excellent day in pass protection, giving Tommy Rees all the time in the world to find an open receiver.

Run blocking was a different story, though. The line had a difficult time controlling the line of scrimmage on rushing attempts, and, at times, failed to pick up blitzing Eagle defenders.

The unit is in for a test next week against a stout Stanford front seven.

Defensive Line

Grade: A

The Notre Dame defensive line deserves recognition as the best unit on the field Saturday afternoon.

With Stephon Tuitt missing in action due to an illness, Aaron Lynch, Louis Nix and Ethan Johnson picked up the slack by making life difficult for the Boston College offense.

Brian Kelly mentioned that Saturday's game was, far and away, the best game Louis Nix has played in his young career. Nix was a true "anchor" in the trenches.

Another young phenom, Aaron Lynch, showed improvement in his awareness during pass plays, as he was able to get a paw up to deflect a pass from Eagles quarterback Chase Rettig.

Linebackers

Grade: A-

Not having received an "A" from me all season, the linebacking corps did just enough to merit that recognition this weekend.

Manti Te'o and Co. made their presence felt by sticking it to Boston College. Te'o will likely be the subject of many a nightmare for the Boston College offense.

Te'o's partners in crime, Dan Fox, Carlo Calabrese and Darius Fleming, also played well, after receiving a heavy dose of criticism from myself and other members of the media for the past few weeks.

Secondary

Grade: A-

The Irish secondary deserves recognition for its play against Boston College. At one point in the second half, the defensive backfield forced Eagles quarterback Chase Rettig into 10 straight incompletions.

That effectively stifled any comeback hopes that Frank Spaziani's squad had.

It was a proper send-off for seniors Robert Blanton, Gary Gray and Harrison Smith, who have been mainstays on campus for the past four seasons.

The question begging to be asked is how well this unit will perform against Andrew Luck and the Stanford passing attack next Saturday night.

Special Teams

Grade: A

It's quite a shock that David Ruffer was Notre Dame's leading scorer on Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium.

The senior connected on each of his three field goal attempts and knocked in his lone extra point attempt of the day. He and his consistency kicking the ball will be greatly missed next season.

The player likely to fill his shoes, freshman Kyle Brindza, improved on kickoffs this week, after struggling to give his team good field position last week against Maryland.

Fellow special teams member, punter Ben Turk, had another solid day, booting the ball eight times for an average of 44 yards per punt.

Coaching

Grade: B

It's safe to assume that Brian Kelly never assumed that he and his staff would have their hands so full against a Boston College squad that was 3-7 heading into Saturday's contest.

Unfortunately, that was just the case.

The Eagles were never out of it, before falling short in the end, in a 16-14 Notre Dame victory.

Apparently, halftime adjustments were hard to come by, with the Irish offense continuing to languish in the second half. The defensive coaches did a great job of coaching their unit, as the Boston College offense struggled to move the ball for the better part of 60 minutes.

Next week's showdown against Stanford will be the coaching staff's biggest test yet this season.

Intangibles

Grade: A

It wasn't pretty, but Notre Dame found a way to beat a feisty Boston College squad 16-14.

Sure, there were many opportunities for the players to hang their heads and lay down, but this team's "never say die" attitude showed itself yet again.

There was no way that this team was going to allow a loss on senior day. There was no other choice but to win for those 39 seniors.

The team did just that.

Now, after four straight victories, it's time to see how far this team has come since a loss to USC on October 22. A date with Stanford next Saturday will serve as the proverbial measuring stick.