Boston College Topples Notre Dame, 24-23

Boston College broke Notre Dame’s heart again.

Paul Peterson threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez with 54 seconds left to give Boston College a 24-23 come-from-behind victory Saturday over Notre Dame, the Eagles’ fourth consecutive win over the Irish.

This loss didn’t hurt as much as the 14-7 loss two years ago, when Boston College (5-2) ended Notre Dame’s undefeated season, or 11 years ago, when the Eagles beat the Irish 41-39 to deny them a shot at the national championship. But it was still a big setback for the 24th-ranked Irish (5-3).

“It hurts,” Notre Dame Coach Tyrone Willingham said. “We let it slip out of our hands. This was an important game for the season, for the program.”

The Eagles dominated the second half after trailing 20-7 at halftime, gaining 319 yards compared with the Irish’s 122. The Irish were held to only 24 yards rushing in the second half.

“At halftime it was time for us to make a stand,” Boston College Coach Tom O’Brien said.

Peterson engineered the comeback, completing 27 of 41 passes for 383 yards, including 19 of 23 for 297 yards in the second half. He had a 21-yard touchdown pass to Joel Hazard in the third quarter and set up a 21-yard field goal by Ryan Ohliger early in the fourth that cut the lead to 20-17.

“He was just poised,” Gonzalez said. “That’s the best thing about him.”

Gonzalez made a great catch on the game-winner, going over Irish cornerback Mike Richardson and coming down with the ball in the end zone.

“Tony just made a great play,” Peterson said. “That was awesome.”