Notre Dame beat Boston College 16-14 on another tough senior day for the Irish. Unlike a lot of those tough senior days; this one will go down as a win. It was fitting that there was a certain senior player that helped Notre Dame win this game- perhaps more than anyone. It wasn’t Michael Floyd, or Harrison Smith, or even Jonas Gray- it was David Ruffer.
David Ruffer was 3 for 3 in the field goal department, and it was those 9 points that Notre Dame desperately needed to win their final home game of the season. Ruffer was kind of a “lost hero” this year. After a 2010 that saw Ruffer develop into a cult hero among the Notre Dame fanbase, he has been somewhat quiet this season. Against Boston College, he was the silent assassin that was hired to bail out an offense that despite racking up 417 yards of offense; looked anemic and had difficulty doing much of anything consistently.
Although fans won’t be too happy about the “style points” (along with regular points) that were left on the field, it was still a win, in November, on senior day, and moved the Notre Dame record to 8-3. The real unfortunate matter was the injury that Jonas Gray sustained. Nothing official has been announced, but it was most likely an ACL tear. You can’t help but be heartbroken for Jonas Gray. After all Gray has done this season despite 3 years of inconsistencies, it was just a horrible way for Jonas to quite possibly end his Notre Dame career.
Winning a game by 2 points when you are favored by 24.5, doesn’t turn many heads in the positive direction. A BCS berth is still 99% unlikely, but it still moves you toward that last game of the season with the ultimate goal now being a 10 win season that includes a bowl victory; most likely the Champs Sport Bowl. The next hurdle in front of Notre Dame to meet that goal is Stanford.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
