(Notre Dame) — Mark Twain said “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which have never happened.”

That’s the case for those worried about a letdown for Notre Dame’s football team this week.

The Irish used a stifling defense and balanced offense to methodically dismantle Boston College, 41-7, before a sellout crowd at Notre Dame Stadium. The victory lifts #5 Notre Dame to a 9-1 record, heading into next Saturday’s home finale with SMU.

“Just proud of the guys. Proud of the way they battled,” said Irish coach Marcus Freeman. “And really — I just told them proud of the way they prepared. I think there was a lot of distractions this week, a lot of outside noise that can tell you you’re going to overlook this one.”

CJ Carr threw for 217 yards and two scores, Jonaz Walton ran for 141 yards and touchdown, and the Irish defense even managed a touchdown in a game where Marcus Freeman’s team was never threatened.

Boston College could only manage 136 yards of offense against the Notre Dame defense. The Eagles only managed to get on the board after a Carr interception deep in Irish territory early in the third quarter.

Notre Dame struck on a 26-yard pass play in the first quarter, as Carr scrambled to his right, firing a missile to Micah Gilbert, who broke a tackle at the 3-yard line and cruised in for the score.

“We broke the pocket and through preparation you can kind of gauge where the defender is, can get the ball to Micah and make that throw,” Carr explained.

Nolan James, Jr. made it a 14-0 game early in the second as he bulldozed a tackler on a 10-yard run to paydirt. Walton added a one-yard run later in the quarter to up the ante to 21-0.

The Irish defense then got into the scoring act. Boubacar Traore nailed Boston College quarterback Mason McKenzie on a sack. The ball rolled into the end zone where Jaylen Sneed pounced on it for the first score of his career. A Spencer Porath 40-yard field goal made it 31-0 at the break.

Jordan Faison made a one-hand catch on a 13-yard fade route in the third quarter for Notre Dame’s final touchdown. The Irish amassed exactly 500 yards of offense, 276 rushing and 224 passing.

Notre Dame wraps up the home portion of the season next Saturday vs. SMU with kickoff at 7:30. Hear more about the win over the Eagles and get a preview of the encounter with the Mustangs Monday night at 7 on Notre Dame Federal Credit Union’s “Irish Football Fix”. The show airs on Pulse FM (92.1, 96.9 and 103.1)