The Golden Dome Is Everywhere: Scenes From Notre Dame's Home Game In Boston

On Saturday night, Bernie Gaughan sat in section 126, row LL, seat 2 at Fenway Park, which would have normally been a prime spot behind home plate for a Red Sox game. Instead, he was in the corner of the end zone, watching Notre Dame face Boston College in the first football game at the hallowed stadium since 1968.

It wasn't hard to figure out Gaughan's allegiances. He's lived in Massachusetts for a long time, but he wore a blue and gold Notre Dame hat. It was hard to blame him. After all, if it wasn't for Gaughan, the Irish might not be 10-1 and in position to be one of four teams selected for the college football playoff next month, even after an ugly 19-16 victory over Boston College.

When Brian Kelly graduated from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1983, Gaughan hired him as the school's linebackers coach. Kelly had impressed Gaughan while playing for him as a linebacker on Assumption's club team. Kelly wasn't sure he would become a coach or remain in the profession long if he did. He was also interested in politics and other careers that did not involve yelling on a sideline. At the time, neither Kelly nor Gaughan could have envisioned Kelly becoming the head coach of what might be the nation's most well-known college football program.

Notre Dame's coach hasn't forgotten his past, and he went out of his way to make sure it would be present on Saturday. Gaughan sat between brothers Dave and Tom Hazel, Kelly's old friends and former teammates at Assumption. They didn't have a chance to see Kelly during his short trip to Boston because he was all business, but they appreciated Kelly's help in getting them tickets to the sold out game.

"He's said so many nice things about me in the papers," Gaughan said at halftime, laughing. "I'm thinking of making a comeback." Gaughan joked he would be good at recruiting and connecting with players' grandmothers, given his age.

The Irish could have used all the help they could get on Saturday, as they struggled against a Boston College team that entered the game with a 3-7 record and six consecutive losses. The Eagles had the nation's best defense in terms of yards allowed per game, but they also had the second-to-worst offense by that same metric.

Even though Fenway Park is less than four miles from Boston College's campus, it was technically a home game for Notre Dame. As part of the school's "Shamrock Series," which began in 2009, the Irish travel to major cities once a year and play in major venues such as Yankee Stadium in New York, Soldier Field in Chicago, and AT&T Stadium outside of Dallas.

On Saturday, the famous "Green Monster" left field wall paid homage to Notre Dame with "We Are ND" above the seats and a photo of Kelly and a few players, a listing of previous "Shamrock Series" games and the college football playoff rankings on the wall itself. The end zones had "Notre Dame" and "Fighting Irish" painted on them. Boston College only had access to 5,000 tickets, so the vast majority of the 38,686 fans were wearing Notre Dame gear and rooting for the Irish.

"They were definitely rocking," said Notre Dame receiver Chris Brown, who caught a 12-yard touchdown pass to give the Irish a 16-3 lead in the third quarter. "Maybe because we were in Boston, they turned it up to another level."

The pro-Notre Dame crowd watched a team that hardly looked like one that is currently fourth in the college football playoff rankings. The Irish committed five turnovers, including three in the red zone. With 54 seconds remaining, Boston College cut its deficit to 19-16 on freshman quarterback Jeff Smith's three-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Callinan. The Irish then recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock to seal the victory.

Afterward, Kelly made the venue-appropriate observation that his team's turnovers were like "leaving runners in scoring position." It was a joke, and despite the sloppy play, Kelly was in a good mood. Kelly, who grew up in nearby Chelsea, Mass., entered the stadium 15 minutes earlier than he normally does on game day. He wanted to check out the scene at Fenway by himself.

He was also proud of the Irish for winning their tenth game in a season in which seven players have sustained season-ending injuries, including starting running back Tarean Folston in the opener and starting quarterback Malik Zaire in the second game. Running back C.J. Prosise, who has rushed for 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns since taking over for Folston, suffered a left ankle sprain on Saturday. He is doubtful for this Saturday's important game against Stanford. Starting cornerback KeiVarae Russell also sustained a right tibia fracture on Saturday and will miss six to eight weeks.

"What I love about this team is they persevere," Kelly said. "It's been injuries all year. Tonight, it was turnovers. We just found a way to win against a very spirited Boston College team despite the amount of turnovers we had tonight. Would we have planned to turn it over this many times and thought we could've won? Probably not. But our kids made a couple plays that they needed to late to find a way to win."

Several players spoke about "completing the mission" or "accomplishing the mission," vague terms that have become the team's rallying cry and, in #accomplishthemission, the team's signature hashtag. "Completing the mission is beating Stanford," Notre Dame captain and linebacker Joe Schmidt said. "We're worried about completing the mission. Right now, in order to complete the mission, we've got to beat Stanford. That's the mission is beat Stanford."

"That's a good answer," a reporter said.

"Future in politics, huh?" said Schmidt, smiling.

Schmidt understood he hadn't specifically answered the question, but he didn't really have to—the mission means getting to the college football playoff. And if the Irish are to achieve that goal, they have to defeat No. 11 Stanford (9-2) on the road in their season finale.

Even with a victory over Stanford, there's no guarantee the 12-person college football playoff committee will select the Irish to play in the semifinals on New Year's Eve. Notre Dame was helped when No. 3 Ohio State and No. 6 Oklahoma State lost on Saturday, and the Irish's only loss was by two points to No. 1 Clemson. Still, a lot can happen between now and the end of the year.

On Saturday, though, the Irish were simply happy to have won and remain in the playoff conversation. A few minutes past midnight, Kelly walked out of Fenway Park. Before he boarded the first of the team's seven buses, a few fans stopped him outside of Gate D at the corner of Yawkey Way and Van Ness Street. Kelly, a lefthander, took a black Sharpie and signed two miniature gold helmets and a replica poster board with the Irish's famous "Play Like A Champion Today" sign that players slap before running onto the Notre Dame Stadium field.

"Ohio State lost," one fan said. "Oklahoma State lost."

"We're in good shape," Kelly replied. "Just win."