While the Trojans win streak over the Irish (currently at 8 games) is more publicized, the Boston College streak is more painful; the Eagles have beaten the Irish an astounding and embarrassing 6 times in a row. Long considered the inferior Catholic school in all ways, Boston College has consistently played extremely well against the Irish, while the Irish arrive flat and uninspired. This matchup could be the perfect case of "a big game for them but not as much us"; nonetheless, the Irish have a Michigan St like streak that needs to be ended tomorrow at 2:30pm central time in Notre Dame Stadium (weather is highs in the mid 40s, very cloud, 40% chance of rain).
Boston College is a weird team this year. Well played games at home (28-21 over Florida St, 53-20 over NC State, 27-24 over Wake Forrest) with some terrible results on the road (loss 14-48 @ VTech and loss 7-25 @ Clemson) make the picture a bit murky. Certainly expect the Eagles to play well in Notre Dame Stadium, as they are quite comfortable there, winning 4 of their last 5 games in South Bend. Clearly the Boston College players and media treat this game almost like a bowl game - putting the Irish in a tough game every year.
BC is a strong rushing team, with a streaky QB. Last week, the Eagles rushed for 260 yards - 150 of which were via the "Wildcat" formation. The Irish are much improved against the run, holding the vaunted Trojans rushing offense to just 120 yards. Lots of that ground improvement has been at the expense of the passing defense. The Irish have demoted Free Safety Harrison Smith (#22 - Knoxville, TN) and have shaken things up in the secondary. The unit is talented, and eventually just has to play better. Things in the back 4 can't get much worse, and I don't expect this BC passing attack to expedite that.
This game feels like another trap game for the Irish. Notre Dame consistently plays down to BC and Michigan St, largely because they are not one of the 2 or 3 marquee opponents on the schedule. The week after USC will certainly be a less intense and hyped atmosphere - a situation that will reveal the true character of this team.
To me, the true "character" of this team is fighting to the end - for which no lead is safe, and no deficit is either; unfortunately for my heart rate, I see another thriller coming - game decided late in the 4th quarter:
Notre Dame 42 Boston College 35
(Vatican Smoke is 4-2 predicting winners, 2-4 against the spread)
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