Notre Dame 19, Boston College 16: Five things we learned

If you were watching it on TV and didn't know any better, you wouldn't have known Saturday night's game was being played in one of the most historic sports venues in the country.

Then you get the end zone view and you see the backdrop where the batter's box would be or the famous scoreboard.

It was a great night in Boston for the latest installment of the Shamrock Series. 

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Notre Dame's latest 1,000-yard rusher — he topped the mark Saturday vs. Boston College — left the game in the second quarter with a left leg injury and did not return. Notre Dame did not say the extent of Prosise's injury but he was seen using crutches on the field after the game.

Prosise has five 100-yard rushing games this season and one 100-yard receiving game. 

Josh Adams stepped up last week with a 98-yard TD run, but against the nation's No. 1 rushing defense Saturday, Adams and the Irish struggled on the ground following Prosise's exit. He had 54 yards on nine carries with a 31-yard run. Boston College entered the game allowing a nation's-low 77.1 rushing yards per game.

Will Prosise be available for next Saturday's game against Stanford?

As good as Boston College is on defense, it's equally bad on offense. The Eagles came to Fenway Park ranked 126th (next to last) in total offense with 276.6 yards per game.

With Notre Dame committing five turnovers and constantly putting its defense in bad positions, it helped that BC was incapable or punching it in when the door was open to scare, even beat, the Irish.

Brian Kelly said it at halftime — his team knew it had to take care of the ball better — because if they're as sloppy next week against Stanford, the outcome will be different.

Yes, DeShone Kizer threw three interceptions, but he still threw for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Those numbers could have been much better. 

His top target, Will Fuller, dropped three passes. One would have extended a fourth quarter drive on third down and another would have been a long TD pass in the fourth quarter and put the game away.

Fuller entered Saturday's game averaging 19.9 yards per reception for 937 yards and 12 TDs, but looked like he lost some confidence after the drops.

Just like the Irish needs a healthy C.J. Prosise against Stanford, the Irish also need a confident Fuller — which leads to a confident Kizer.

Ohio State will drop from the top four in the College Football Playoff.

That just might give the Irish a little breathing room because after spending the past two weeks as the No. 4 team. 

That's been the question each week: Are the Irish worthy of that fourth spot? That was debatable after Saturday night's sloppy victory.

Expect Iowa, Michigan State, Baylor and Oklahoma to have momentum with the selection committee when Tuesday's rankings are released.