SOUTH BEND, Ind. — C.J. Prosise won’t exactly get a warm welcome from Boston College’s defense when he makes his expected return to Notre Dame’s offense Saturday at Fenway Park.
Prosise, one of 11 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award and Notre Dame’s leading rusher with 975 yards and 11 touchdowns, will face a sensational Eagles rush defense allowing an average of 2.1 yards per carry, tops among FBS teams. Boston College is stuffing opposing rushers for no gain or a loss on 32 percent of their carries, another rate that leads the country.
“They don't do a lot but what they do they're good at,” center and captain Nick Martin said. “They have controlled defense, they like to move around. They're tough players. They play the whole play. And they're older, too, which really helps.”
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Eight of Notre Dame’s 27 rushing attempts against Wake Forest went for no gain or a loss of yards, a stuff rate of about 30 percent. Wake Forest’s defense, through 10 games this year, has a middle-of-the-pack stuff rate of about 21 percent.
Getting stopped on or before the line of scrimmage isn’t anything new for Notre Dame rushers — the offense’s 21.5 percent stuff rate ranks 93rd among FBS teams — but it’s been balanced out by loads of big plays. Notre Dame has 69 rushes of 10 or more yards (18th), 23 of 20 or more yards (9th), six of 50 or more yards (3rd) and is the only FBS team with two 90-plus-yard runs this season. The latter one of those, Josh Adams’ record-breaking 98-yard dash last weekend, helped Notre Dame manage to average 5.7 yards per carry against Wake Forest despite all those zero-sum or negative plays.
“Not every play is going to be a ‘big chunk’ play, but if you can keep grinding you find your spots,” Martin said.
Boston College’s defense, though, has made a killing this season by preventing opponents from gouging it on the ground. The Eagles have only allowed 33 runs of 10 or more yards (8th), nine of 20 or more yards (22nd), two of 30 or more yards (11th) and one of 40 or more yards (7th). They haven’t allowed a run of 50 or more yards.
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Notre Dame knows, though, for its boom-or-bust rushing attack to succeed, it’s going to have to find a way to rip off some big-chunk plays.
“I don't think you can make a living with this team or win or score enough points just trying to stack three-yard runs against them,” coach Brian Kelly said. “It's going to be a long day. They would hope that that's the way you kind of play the game. We've got to try to find explosive plays, so that's why C.J. Prosise needs to be in this game.
“So, yeah, there are going to be some three-yard runs, and (Prosise has) got to recognize that that's it. But we hope to manufacture some other ones as well.”