Irish can’t spoil it for B.C.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Matt Ryan kept Notre Dame from getting payback on unbeaten Boston College.

Ryan used a series of screens and short passes to keep the blitzing Irish off balance and threw two touchdowns to lead the fourth-ranked Eagles to a 27-14 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday.

The Irish were hoping to put a damper on Boston College’s national title hopes as the Eagles had done when they cost Notre Dame a national championship in 1993.

Boston College Coach Jeff Jagodzinski said he never viewed the game against the Irish (1-6) as a trap game because he knew his team wouldn’t take Notre Dame lightly.

“Our kids were so excited about coming out here and playing this football game. It’s a great rivalry,” he said.

Jagodzinski said his message has stayed consistent against each opponent.

“I told our guys we can’t get to where we want to go unless we keep taking care of business every week,” he said.

Boston College is 7-0 for only the fifth time in 107 seasons, the first time since 1942, and beat Notre Dame for the fifth consecutive time.

The Eagles appeared ready to blow the game open when Ryan threw a nine-yard scoring pass to Andre Callender to make it 20-0 with 11:42 left in the third quarter.

However, the Irish scored a pair of touchdowns 95 seconds apart to cut it to 20-14. Evan Sharpley, who replaced an ineffective Jimmy Clausen at quarterback, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Robby Parris and linebacker Brian Smith returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown.

The Eagles quickly regained control after the Irish were called for excessive celebration and penalized 15 yards on the kickoff. The Eagles needed only five plays to score. Ryan, throwing quickly to beat the blitz, hit Kevin Challenger for a 13-yard TD to make it 27-14.