CFB: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Week 10 Preview
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
Refreshed from their bye week, Notre Dame are shipping up to Boston to face the beleaguered Boston College Eagles. After the high of beating their biggest rivals, USC, to keep their playoff hopes alive, this week the Irish need to stay focused to avoid an upset against a school that has ruined ND seasons before.
Looking Back at Last Week
After the combination of mid-term exams, at a school where such things are taken seriously, and the biggest game of the season at night against the possibly soon-to-be erstwhile rivals from Southern California, the bye week came at a good time for Notre Dame. In between eating cheeseburgers and watching their rivals play, the team were able to fit in some of their usual option defense preparation for the forthcoming Navy game and take a little time off.
It was a weekend devoid of many upsets. However, the defeats for Oklahoma and LSU in ranked matchups handed both of those schools their second loss and likely ended their realistic playoff hopes, given their remaining schedules. In LSU’s case, the humiliation at home to Texas A&M not only helped Irish playoff hopes but also prompted a mass outbreak of schadenfreude among ND fans as they ordered extra popcorn to watch the firing of Brian Kelly.
Elsewhere, Miami steadied its ship, and Navy and Pittsburgh both won, increasing the possibility that either or both could be ranked when they face Notre Dame. With the first playoff committee rankings coming out next week, these could be critical factors for Notre Dame’s playoff hopes come early December.
The Week Ahead
Boston College Eagles (Notre Dame Stadium); 3.30pm EDT; 7.30pm GMT
While the Mormons in the state of Utah and beyond have dubbed the BYU-Utah rivalry the Holy War for over 30 years, the matchup of the only two Catholic universities playing at the FBS level was given that moniker first, decades earlier. Meeting for the first time in 1975, Notre Dame holds an 18-9 record against the Eagles all-time.
The halcyon days for BC in the rivalry were in the first decade of this century. They won six straight between 2001 and 2008, taking full advantage of the Irish’s position as a program during some of their poorest coaching tenures in the last half-century. ND, however, have now won nine straight and has scored at least 40 points in each of the previous four contests. Given the contrast between the Irish offense and the Eagles’ 2025 defense, there is every chance that record could be extended further.
Since beating FCS school, Fordham, in the opening week of the season, the Eagles have lost seven consecutive games to FBS opposition. To their credit, they play hard and don’t give up, but on a pure talent basis, they have frequently been over-matched. And that discrepancy may be at its largest this season on Saturday afternoon.
Alabama transfer QB, Dylan Lonergan, won the starting job in Fall camp, but was benched in favour of FIU transfer, Grayson James, two games ago. BC’s run game is anaemic, which puts more pressure on the QB position. HC, Bill O’Brien, likes to throw deep, but that may prove particularly challenging given the ND pass rush and the quality of its secondary.
James is prone to more than the occasional turnover-worthy play, which will be music to the ears of an Irish defense with a dozen INTs in its last five outings.
BC lost a lot of key defensive personnel in the offseason, and their front six/seven in particular have been depleted and are performing significantly worse. They’ve given up almost 500 yards per game in the last four games, as they get into the meat of conference play, with their run defense the most significant weakness. So perhaps not an ideal time to host two of the very best RBs in all of college football.
Their only option may be to stack the box and hope that they can contain CJ Carr. A strategy tried and tested by NC State several weeks ago. When Carr threw for 342 yards and the Irish won 36-7. And that’s assuming they can contain the Love/Price duo on the ground.
Their only bright scoring threat is K, Luca Lombardo, who is 11-for-11 on the season. It would, however, take more than a few things to go very, very wrong for Notre Dame for this to turn into a low-scoring FG duel!
Game Prediction
NOTRE DAME 45-13 BOSTON COLLEGE
The Irish will pass to set up the run, and CJ Carr will ensure the contest is over by half-time. Avoiding injuries will be the primary concern for Notre Dame after the break.
Where to Watch
DAZN (coverage starts at 7.30pm GMT)
ESPN (in the USA)
Playoff Picture
With the first playoff committee rankings due out next week, this is the final opportunity for teams to impress before those key initial placings. Notre Dame fans still want the same things each week: the teams on its schedule to win and its current rivals to lose. Navy and Pittsburgh winning at North Texas and Stanford this week would be particularly helpful.
Elsewhere, Oklahoma and Tennessee meet in an elimination game, with the loser on three losses. Teams like Texas Tech, Virginia, Louisville and Cincinnati all face tricky opposition on the road. And who thought Hallowe’en would see Vanderbilt trying to get to 8-1 while handing the Longhorns their third loss? It could yet prove to be a pretty scary weekend for more than a few fanbases.
STIOFÁN MAC FHILIB
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
A VERY LONG-DISTANCE SUBWAY ALUMNUS OF NOTRE DAME, COUNTY ANTRIM-BASED STIOFÁN HAS BEEN A FAN OF THE FIGHTING IRISH SINCE 2000. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SMACFHILIB.