Ian Book passed for 239 yards and three touchdowns and Jonathan Doerer kicked four field goals as No. 16 Notre Dame cruised past visiting Boston College 40-7 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., on Saturday.

Notre Dame (9-2) outscored BC (5-6) 24-0 after halftime while outgaining the Eagles 501-191 for the game. Book helped steer the Fighting Irish to 34 unanswered points to close the game, completing 26 of 40 passes while connecting with Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet and Chris Finke for touchdowns.

BC grabbed a 7-6 lead with 7:56 remaining in the second quarter. Eagles quarterback Dennis Grosel capped a 16-play, 84-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the score before Aaron Boumerhi's extra point put the visitors ahead.

The advantage was short-lived, however, as the Fighting Irish responded with a 15-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Book to Claypool with 2:48 to go before halftime.

Notre Dame closed the half with a 45-yard field goal by Doerer to take a 16-7 lead into intermission. Grosel's fumble on a third-and-8 from the Notre Dame 48 resulted in a 10-yard loss that forced the Eagles to punt and set the Fighting Irish up for Doerer's third field goal of the half.

The late second-quarter scores proved especially beneficial with the Eagles receiving the kickoff to open the third quarter. Outside of its lengthy touchdown drive, however, BC showed inconsistency in moving the ball. The Eagles gained 127 total yards in the first half, with 84 coming on one drive.

Braden Lenzy ran for a 61-yard touchdown in the third quarter as the Fighting Irish had 252 yards on the ground.

Led by Adetokunbo Ogundeji (two sacks) and Asmar Bilal (eight tackles), the Fighting Irish limited BC running back AJ Dillon, a one-time Notre Dame recruit, to 56 yards on 14 carries. Grosel was 9-for-20 passing for 63 yards and an interception.

BC must defeat Pittsburgh in its regular-season finale next week to become bowl-eligible for the sixth time in seven seasons under coach Steve Addazio. The Fighting Irish will look to improve bowl position and earn their third straight regular season of double-digit victories when they visit Stanford next Saturday.

The Fighting Irish have finished undefeated at home for the past two seasons.

--Field Level Media